Home Economy Sensex slips further, down 138 points

Sensex slips further, down 138 points

By IANS,

Mumbai : Indian equities markets went on a correction mode within about an hour of trading Monday morning with a key index shedding 116 points from its last closing figure.

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened at 15,153.21 points, above Friday’s close of 15,103.55. About an hour later, it slipped into red to 14,965.2 points, 138.35 points or 0.92 percent lower than Friday’s close.

In a pre-trade analysis, stock broking firm Angel Broking had said the Sensex could correct up to 14,979-14,854 points if it traded below the 15,118-mark in the first half hour of trade.

Like the Sensex, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too fell, shedding 1.2 percent from its last close to stand at 4,531.85 points.

Profit booking was underway in lesser scrips as well, leading to broader market indices to come under pressure. The BSE midcap index fell 2.3 percent from its previous close, while the BSE smallcap index was down 3.2 percent.

Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, the ones for metal and realty stocks lost out, while only those for IT and technology stocks were on the gaining side.

The market breadth was negative, with 718 stocks advancing, 1,750 declining and 43 remaining unchanged.

Among gainers on the Sensex at this time were Infosys, up 2.09 percent at Rs.1,725.90; L&T, up 1.34 percent at Rs.1,539.65; TCS, up 1.03 percent at Rs.729; and Wipro, up 0.74 percent at Rs.395.70.

Of the losers on the Sensex were Sterlite, down 5.13 percent at Rs.637.70; Tata Steel, down 4.38 percent at Rs.443.60; Jaiprakash Associates, down 4.37 percent at Rs.221.20; and DLF, down 3.77 percent at Rs.392.65.

Other Asian markets were ruling mixed, with a key index of the Tokyo stock exchange, Nikkei 225 Stock Average, going up 104.3 points to 9,872.31 points towards closing bell.

On the other hand, the Hang Seng, a primary index of the Hong Kong stock exchange, was ruling 135.27 points down at 18,544.26 points.