Sensex closes down 1.63%; Nifty 1.83%

The Sensex closed on a weak note led by realty stocks followed by consumer durables and capital goods. It opened firm with a gain of 120.94 points, at 11,997.37 on Monday, touching a high of 12,026.60. However, it pared all its gains and fell into the negative on profit booking. As the day progressed, the index continued its downward trend on aggressive selling pressure seen across board, touching a low of 11,621.30 to finally end on a weak note.

Secondline stocks also supported the downfall. BSE Midcap and Smallcap index dropped 1.56% and 2.15% respectively.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty was badly hit. The counter plunged 5.19%, Consumer durables, Capital goods dropped over 2% each. Power, Metal, Bankex and IT declined over 1% each.

On global front, Asian stocks end mixed, after Goldman Sachs Group recommended buying HSBC Holdings and Hong Kong and China widened a trading agreement. Nikkei gained 19.15 points, or 0.20%, to end at 9,451.98, Hang Seng index fell 301.92 points, or 1.74%, to close at 17,087.95 and Shanghai Composite declined 45.90 points, or 1.75%, to settle at 2,579.75.

Meanwhile, European stocks fell, led by basic resources companies as metal prices retreated in London and Lonmin announced a share sale. FTSE 100 rose 30.22 points, or 0.69%, to trade at 4,428.90, CAC 40 fell 42.72 points, or 1.29%, to trade at 3,269.87 and DAX declined 43.19 points, or 0.88%, to trade at 4,870.71. (4.10 p.m., IST)

The Sensex ended the day with a loss of 193.44 points, or 1.63% at 11,682.99 after touching a high of 12,026.60 and a low of 11,621.30. The broad-based NSE Nifty fell 66.10 points, or 1.83% at 3,554.60 after hitting a high of 3,660.20 and a low of 3,534.55.

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Mahindra & Mahindra (1.57%), ICICI Bank (0.55%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (0.46%), Maruti Suzuki India (0.33%), Tata Power Company (0.24%), and HDFC Bank (0.11%).

On the other hand, DLF (5.10%), Reliance Capital (5.05%), State Bank Of India(4.86%), Reliance Communications (4.64%), Jaiprakash Associates (4.61%), and Tata Motors (4.28%) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Overall market breadth was extremely negative. Out of the total 2,582 stocks traded at BSE, 920 advanced, 1,573 declined while 89 remained unchanged.