Sensex ends down 132 pts

The Sensex ended (provisional) at 18,196 - down 132 points. Nifty ended down 45 points at 5,449.
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(Updated at 1435 hrs)

Markets continued to languish in red albiet off the day's low. Earlier in the day, the Sensex slumped  over 200 points after a strong earthquake hit Northern Japan. Better-than-expected IIP data was largely ignored by investors as continuing turmoil in Libya and high  crude oil prices weighed on the market sentiment.

The BSE Sensex dropped to a low of 18,063 as news of the quake came out. The index has recovered marginally from the low but was down 175 points at 18,153. Nifty slipped 57 points at 5,438.

Massive tsunamis measuring 7 meters hit the north-eastern coast of Japan, after a terrific 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck the island nation 150 kms off the Japanese coast. The country's Cosmo refinery caught fire after the incident. As many as nine nations have now issued tsunami warnings, fearing aftershocks in the area.

Markets in Asia tumbled on the news. Nikkei slumped 1.7% to 10,254. Hang Seng shed 1.5% to 23,249. Straits Times and Seoul Composite dropped 1% each.

Meanwhile, India's index of industrial production (IIP) showed that growth slowed to 3.7% in January compared to 16.8% expansion in the year-ago period, dragged down by the poor performance of the manufacturing sector. However, growth in factory output was better than the 2.53% expansion (revised upward from 1.6%) witnessed in the previous month.

Infra stocks were weak through the day, as fears of higher interest rates impacting borrowing cost dampened sentiments. Jaiprakash Associates tumbled 2.6% to Rs 82. Reliance Infra shed 2.5% to Rs 609.

BHEL slumped 4% to Rs 1,971. Major metal names slipped. Sterlite dropped 3% to Rs 160. Tata Steel slipped 2.4% to RS 583. Hindalco and Jindal Steel dipped 1.5% each in trades.