Sensex sinks 343 points on IIP shocker; IT survives

Concerns over growth slowdown, weak rupee coupled with negative global cues pulled the markets lower, with the Sensex falling 343 points and the Nifty declining 102 points at the close

Headlines for the day

October IIP at -5.1% versus 1.9% in September

Kinetic Engg, Kinetic Motor surge after board approves merger

Emami plunges after AMRI Hospital fire incident

Aviation stocks make smart gains



Indian indices

Today’s biggest drag on the Street was weaker-than-expected Index of Industrial Production ( IIP) data for October, which came in at -5.1%. Investors booked profits across the board, with metal, banking, oil & gas, PSU, realty, power and capital goods stocks among major losers. Only IT stocks survived in the weak market environment.

Weakness in the rupee and negative global cues also weighed on the sentiments. The Sensex slipped below the 16000 mark and the Nifty fell below 4800 level.

Sensex Movements: The Sensex began the trade 142 points higher at 16355 and soon touched the day’s high of 16360. The index remained in a narrow range ahead of the IIP data. In the mid morning session on the release of weak IIP data, the index fell and extended losses as the session progressed. In the late trade, the index touched the day’s low of 15840 on all-round selling, weakness in the European stocks and worsening rupee. The Sensex closed 343 points lower at 15870 and the Nifty stood at 4765, down by 102 points.

Market sentiment:

The market breadth stood extremely weak. Of the 2862 stocks traded on the BSE, 798 (27.88%) rose, 1943 (67.89%) fell and 121 (4.23%) remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes:

Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy was traded the most, with over 0.42 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that, Industrial finance company - IFCI (0.35 crore shares), a Jaypee Group firm - Jaiprakash Associates (0.35 crore shares), India's second largest developer – Unitech (0.27 crore shares) and India's largest automobile company – Tata Motors (0.23 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening:

All the sectoral indices closed in the negative zone except BSE IT up by 0.95%. Top losers — BSE Metal declined by 4.14%, BSE Bankex fell by 2.98% and BSE Oil & Gas slipped by 2.80%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers — Wipro rose by 2.56%, Torrent Pharmaceuticals surged by 1.89% and Aurobindo Pharma up by 1.67%. Top three losers — Essar Oil slipped by 10.89%, United Breweries down by 10.67% and Emami dipped by 8.87%.

Global indices

The European stock markets fell on Monday (December 12, 2011), as the rally sparked by Friday's progress at the summit of European Union leaders proved to be short-lived and market participants examined the implications of the latest measures by policymakers to address the region' debt crisis.

The Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Monday after European leaders agreed to draft a new treaty for deeper economic integration, but market players said the short-covering bounce may not last as the deal was no panacea for the region's long-term debt worries.

The US stock index futures pointed to a weaker open for equities on the Wall Street on Monday.

Market Outlook: US Treasury Budget will remain in focus on Monday.