1/3 of actively traded stocks drop over 5%

One-third of the actively traded stocks lost more than 5 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday as the Sensex had at one point of time tumbled over 850 points in late trading. It was bloodbath in the market as all the sectoral indices were in the red.

The advance-decline ratio on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange supported bears, with all but one (Hindustan Lever) Nifty and Sensex stocks closing lower.

The marketwide advance-decline ratio was 1:2 on BSE and 1:1 on NSE. Large cap stocks were hammered and only 17 stocks went up while 202 others lost out. Small cap stocks, however, performed better with 515 stocks closing at the upper circuit filter.

Anil Gupta, derivative analyst at Religare Research, said that the large cap stocks were in the firing range throughout the day.

Technically, the Nifty got support at 5,750 and closed at 5,777. Both the index futures, Sensex futures and Nifty futures, closed at a premium to spot indices indicating that bulls are asking for premium from bears for their short positions. However, technical weakness persists though strong support is seen at 5,750.

Deven Choksey of KR Choksey says the market might get support tomorrow if one considers the advance tax figures released today.

Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank have paid higher advance tax in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. This indicates that the growth momentum remains intact and today's decline should be taken as profit-booking.

Monday's major losers include the metal, realty and power stocks. Capital goods and banking stocks also declined sharply. The market breadth turned negative in late trade in contrast to a strong breadth earlier in the day.