Sensex plunges 238 pts at close; RCom, JP Asso drop

Indian equities continued to decline for the second day on Wednesday. The Sensex settled on a disappointing note due to weak global cues, fuel price hike fears and aggressive selling pressure seen across board. It touched a low of 19,611.35. In sectoral space, consumer durable, realty, banking and metal lost ground.



Asian stocks fell by the most in two weeks on speculation China will raise interest rates to help stem inflation in the world`s fastest growing major economy, curbing demand for commodities and European stocks fell from a two-year high after President Barack Obama said he`ll fight to let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire in two years.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex declined 238.16 points or 1.19% at 19,696.48 with 28 components posting drop. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty went down by 72.85 points or 1.22% at 5,903.70 with 43 components posting drop.

Sensex Movers

H D F C Bank contributed fall of 33.78 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Housing Development Finance Corporation (27.52 points), Reliance Industries (24.84 points), State Bank Of India (21.9 points) and Infosys Technologies (19.77 points).

However, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation contributed rise of 3.54 points in the Sensex. It was followed by ACC (2.18 points), Tata Motors (1.35 points), Grasim Industries (1.28 points) and Reliance Infrastructure (0.27 points).

Major gainers in the 30-share index were Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (0.50%), and Tata Motors (0.25%).

On the other hand, Reliance Communications (3.21%), Jaiprakash Associates (3.12%), H D F C Bank (3.07%), D L F (2.81%), Tata Steel (2.49%), and Housing Development Finance Corporation (2.42%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Mid and small caps underperformed their larger counterparts declining 2.21% and 3.22% respectively.

The major losers in the BSE Midcap were Allahabad Bank(7%), Ackruti City (3.06%), Allcargo Global Logistics (2.42%), Aban Offshore (1%) and Alfa-Laval (India) (0.62%).

The major losers in the BSE Smallcap were A B G Shipyard (6.39%), Abhishek Industries (4.92%), Aarti Industries (2.2%), INEOS ABS (India) (1.83%) and A B G Infralogistics (0.76%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Consumer Durables index was at 6,150.01, down by 189.06 points or by 2.98%. The major losers were Gitanjali Gems (6.47%), Bajaj Electricals (4.24%), Whirlpool Of India (2.49%), Blue Star (2.18%) and Rajesh Exports (1.53%).

The Realty index was at 2,840.02, down by 73.05 points or by 2.51%. The major losers were Anant Raj Industries (5.76%), D B Realty (4.01%), Ackruti City (3.06%), D L F (2.81%) and Indiabulls Real Estate (2.64%).

The Bankex index was at 13,068.92, down by 270.51 points or by 2.03%. The major losers were Canara Bank(4.68%), H D F C Bank (3.07%), Federal Bank (1.77%), Bank Of Baroda (1.05%) and Bank Of India (0.6%).

The Metal index was at 16,341.15, down by 335.88 points or by 2.01%. The major losers were National Aluminium Company (2.8%), JSW Steel (2.28%), Hindalco Industries (2.12%), Bhushan Steel (2.09%) and Jindal Steel & Power (1.39%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was negative with 594 advances against 2,407 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

State Bank Of India topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 2,859.65 million. It was followed by Uflex (Rs. 962.17 million), Tata Motors (Rs. 946.61 million) and Tata Steel (Rs. 805.01 million).

The volume chart was led by Cals Refineries with trades of over 166.03 million shares. It was followed by Sanraa Media (41.43 million), Karuturi Global (14.11 million) and K S Oils (8.72 million).