Stock markets today witnessed their steepest fall in about six months, with the sensex nosediving about 445 points to close below the psychological 20000 mark. Hectic selling was seen across blue-chips, including Reliance Industries and Sterlite Industries, on negative cues from China and Europe.
China's benchmark index Shanghai fell four per cent.That dragged down the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer by 444.55 points, or 2.19 per cent, to settle at 19865.14. On May 25, the BSE benchmark had seen a record fall of 447 points. The last time the sensex closed below the 20000 mark was on October 28. The sensex had opened on a promising note but soon lost ground as investors were cautious and preferred remaining on the sidelines.
The National Stock Exchange's wide-based Nifty saw a steep decline of 132.90 points, to close below the 6000mark at 5988.70. Marketmen said negative global cues and the strengthening dollar weighed heavily on the market. "The continuing weakness in the rupee against the dollar and the rate hike concerns in China is leading the fall on the domestic bourses and the stock markets are likely to remain choppy for the coming few sessions," Rajesh Jain, executive vice-president and head of retail research of Religare Securities, said. Metal counters were the worst hit with copper producer Sterlite Industries plunging the most. The counter shed 5.4 per cent to close at Rs 172.60, while aluminium producer Hindalco and steel giant Jindal Steel declined 5.21 per cent and 1.13 per cent, respectively. Tata Steel also erased its last session's gains to settle with a loss of 1.91 per cent.
Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro contributed the most to the overall sensex loss. While RIL plummeted 2.24 per cent, L&T tumbled 2.53 per cent on the BSE. Bharti Airtel was the only counter that emerged as a winner in the falling market with a gain of 1.16 per cent. Global markets were subdued, with Asian stocks ending in red. Europe was also trading weak in the afternoon.
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com
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