Realty, banking feel the heat, down 6.33% and 4.27% respectively.
Markets suffered further setback today with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) index Nifty closing below the 4,000-mark for the first time in almost two months, and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex losing 445 points on selling sparked by reports of failure of yet another US firm — Washington Mutual.
| ON A LOSING STREAK 26-Sep-08 %* | ||
| Top Gainers | ||
| ITC | 192.25 | 2.04 |
| HUL | 252.50 | 1.18 |
| ACC | 613.70 | 0.42 |
| Top losers | ||
| Ranbaxy Labs | 272.40 | -8.04 |
| Sterlite Ind | 447.20 | -6.28 |
| ICICI Bank | 561.25 | -5.83 |
| Grasim Ind | 1760.50 | -5.72 |
| Hindalco | 99.10 | -5.17 |
| Mah & Mah | 530.50 | -5.06 |
| BHEL | 1550.65 | -5.03 |
| * change over previous close | ||
Marketmen said investor sentiment was battered after reports of all deposits, assets and certain liabilities of Washington Mutual, America’s second-largest savings and loan institution, going to JPMorgan Chase. They said the news of Washington Mutual was a further blow to investors as there were already signs that the $700-billion rescue package was likely to get delayed.
The BSE barometer, which lost nearly 145 points yesterday, fell further by 445 points to 13,102.18 today. The 50-share Nifty too came under heavy selling pressure and closed at 3,985.25 points — a level last seen on July 16.
On BSE, realty stocks were hammered once again amidst continuing concern over the upheaval in global financial markets. The realty index closed down by 6.33 per cent. The banking counter was also under severe pressure and the bankex was lower by 4.27 per cent at close. The metal index was the next biggest casualty at 4.76 per cent.
The realty index shed 243.23 points to go down to 3,596.98, after heavyweights in the sector — DLF, Unitech, Akruti City and Indiabull Realestate — fell in the range of 1.9 to 16.74 per cent.
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The metal index lost 475.01 points, or 4.76 per cent, at 9,502.09. Major losers in the sector were Hindalco, Nalco, Jindal Steel, Sterlite and Tata Steel.
Banking index dropped 292.93 points, or 4.27 per cent, to 6,570.54. State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Punjab National Bank fell sharply.
The capital goods index fell by 461.94 points, or 4.10 per cent, at 10,795.19 as heavy-machinery leaders like Bhel, Larsen and Toubro, Areva, ABB, Punj Llyod, Siemens and Reliance Industrial infrastructure recorded hefty losses. The oil and gas sector index lost 282.58 points, or 3.02 per cent, to 9,081.43 as the Sensex’s heaviest and segment major Reliance Industries fell below Rs 2,000 level to trade at Rs 1,960.90, lower by Rs 64.10.
The power index fell by 84.29 points to 2,347.71, IT index by 113.48 points at 3,234.94, PSU by 206.67 at 6,329.20, Auto by 118.10 points at 3,734.44, TECk index by 80.31 points at 2,624.55, consumer durable index by 69.17 points at 3045.35 and Healthcare index by 59.18 points at 3766.38.
However, FMCG index bucked the general weak trend and recorded a gain of 20.79 points at 2189.07.