Sensex posts record Q4 decline in 28 years

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensitive Index fell to a record fiscal fourth-quarter loss, led by banking shares and Infosys Technologies Ltd, on concern that economic growth may slow.

Sensex declined 726.85 points, or 4.4 per cent, to 15,644.44. The gauge of 30 companies, down 23 per cent so far this year, posted its worst performance for the January-March quarter since the measure was set up in 1979.

The benchmark's decline in the three months was also the steepest in Asia, outside China. The index, which gained 9.2 per cent last week, dropped 11 per cent in March. The S&P CNX Nifty fell 4.2 per cent to 4,734.5.