Blue chips tumble

Steel scrips were the worst hit on Monday with the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex falling 0.61 per cent (30.97 points) to close at 5033.69.

The newly constituted BSE Metal index lost 3.41 per cent on debut even as the rising international oil prices and high domestic inflation led to the market tank once again.

Blue-chips witnessed heavy selling with 19 out of the 30 scrips in the Sensex basket closing lower. Losers edged out gainers 10:7 on the BSE. Brokers said that inflation fears and price cuts by steel majors outweighed gains by technology issues which saw some buying ahead of TCS listing.

Tata Steel was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 5.6 per cent to Rs 245.15. The SAIL scrip fell more than 7 per cent to Rs 37.50.

The market was not enthused by Standard & Poor's decision to upgrade the outlook of India's "BB" long-term foreign currency rating to positive from stable today. However, analysts saw it as a vote of confidence for the economy.

A dealer from local brokerage said, "The market was not enthused by the S&P's upgradation as worries over inflation and higher international oil prices persist, despite oil prices easing marginally on Monday." He added that a lack of a strong positive trigger is hampering the market, though most funds and institutions still believe in the India growth story.