Hedge funds dump stocks

 Hedge funds, the biggest investors in the domestic stock markets in recent times, dumped stocks for the second straight day on Friday, booking profits after a profitable run in the last three months.

 Further pressure on the markets came from institutions committed to program trading whose systems sent out sell orders when the Sensex touched 3,750 in intra-day trades on Thursday.

 Brokers added that retail investors sold shares in the markets, prompted by heavy margin calls on their exposure in the derivatives markets.

 With the market-wide limits in a number of stocks hitting the 80 per cent trigger, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) doubled margins on stock futures.

 Adds a dealer at a local brokerage house,