Market headed for a slump on US bailout plan denial

Key benchmark indices are headed for a plunge mirroring global carnage triggered post rejection of the $700 billion financial rescue plan of the US government. Singapore Nifty futures were trading at over 200 points discount pointing to a sharp gap-down opening.

On Monday, 29 September 2008, the House of Representatives voted down the US government’s financial rescue plan intended to restore confidence in the US banking system. The House rejected by a vote of 228-205, triggering a wide based sell-off in US markets. The rejection of the US plan has heightened concerns that more banks will fail and global credit-losses will widen, leading to a global slowdown.

US stocks slumped on Monday, 29 September 2008 as the House of Representatives rejected the $700 billion bailout plan to rescue the financial system. The S&P 500 index tumbled the most since the 1987 crash and the Dow Jones saw it's biggest single day point fall ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 777.68 points, or 6.98%, to 10,365.45. The S&P 500 index fell 106.62 points, or nearly 9%, to 1,106.39. The Nasdaq Composite index declined 199.61 points, more than 9%, to 1,983.73.

US light crude for November 2008 delivery fell 59 cents to $95.78 a barrel today, 30 September 2008 plunging $10.52 its second biggest fall since 23 April 2003, on the previous day.

Asian markets were trading weak today, 30 September 2008, post overnight bloodbath on the US markets. Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 4.48% or 801.31 points at 17,079.37, Japan's Nikkei tumbled 4.64% or 544.54 points at 11,199.07, Singapore's Straits Times fell 3.77% or 88.95 points at 2,272.39, South Korea's Seoul Composite declined 2.56% or 37.22 points at 1,419.14 and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was down 5.82% or 344.81 points at 5,584.82.

Back home, key indices plunged on Monday, 29 September 2008, to multi-month lows, on uncertainty about the $700 billion US bailout package. The BSE 30-share Sensex plunged 506.43 points or 3.87% to 12,595.75 and The S&P CNX Nifty was down 135.20 points or 3.39% to 3,850.05, on that day.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net equity sellers worth Rs 476.94 crore while mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 554.82 crore on Monday, 29 September 2008, according to provisional data on NSE.