In correction mode

STOCKS REPORT

Taking a cue from the global markets, the Indian stock market fell on profit taking. The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed in the negative, recovering somewhat from the intra-day lows.

The trigger was the slide in the global markets on the Federal Reserve talk of more US interest rate hikes. Some hedge-fund selling in early trades started the fall, market sources said.

The fundamentals remain the same and most of the players said that the correction was overdue. They claimed that such a correction is healthy for the market.

Amid high volatility, the BSE Sensex hit a high of 6629.98 and stooped to a low of 6334.74 in the intra-day trades. The Sensex finally closed at 6458.84, down 192.17 points (2.89 per cent) from Tuesday's close.

Volumes were much higher than on Tuesday in the cash segment of the bourses; the BSE reported a turnover of Rs 3,184.44 crore and the NSE reported a turnover of Rs 6,972.43 crore.

Worries about a slowdown in the global economy weighed heavily on sentiment on Wednesday, brokers said. Stop-loss limits and margin calls were triggered, thereby worsening the fall of the market in afternoon trades, dealers added.

Sentiment remains positive on expectations of strong earnings growth and robust foreign fund inflows this year, fund managers said. But there seems to be some caution at these historic highs, brokers said.

Consumer durables, metal, PSU and banking scrips were among the biggest losers on the day. The breadth of the market was extremely negative with losers outpacing gainers 15:2. In the Sensex basket, 29 out of the 30-scrips closed lower.

Foreign funds were net buyers of Indian shares worth Rs 200.60 crore on Tuesday and domestic mutual funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs 19.90 crore, data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India show.

Gujrat Ambuja Cement was the lone gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 0.02 per cent to close at Rs 425.95.

Hero Honda was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 7.39 per cent to close at Rs 566, followed by Bharti Tele-Ventures, down 6.95 per cent to Rs 210.20. Satyam Computer fell 5.23 per cent to Rs 389.80, Cipla was down 5.19 per cent to Rs 301.15 and HPCL fell 5.08 per cent to Rs 392.25.