Volatile Sensex ends 372 pts down

Renewed worries about the health of global banks hit the market's fragile confidence on Thursday, with the Sensitive Index (Sensex) falling 2.12 per cent after a brave start.

The immediate trigger for the concern was French bank Société Générale's statement that fraud by a single trader had caused it a $7.1 billion loss and that would seek emergency funds as a result.

The Sensex fell 372.3 points to 17,221.74 points, with 24 components in the red. The index closed almost 19 per cent below a life high of 21,206.77 points hit on January 10.

In morning trade, hopes of the Reserve Bank of India cutting interest rates next week and gains in stock markets around the world since the US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by 75 basis points on Tuesday saw the index rise as much as 3.4 per cent.

But Société Générale's announcement prompted a slide in some Asian markets, with indices like Hang Seng sliding as much as 2.29 per cent. The Nifty lost 3.27 per cent or 170 points. 
 

Indices	Value	Net chg	% chg
DOW JONES*	12291.63	21.46	0.17
FTSE 100 **	5875.80	266.50	4.75
Asian Index	Jan 24, 08	Change	% chg
HANG SENG	23539.27	-550.90	-2.29
JAKARTA COMPOSITE	2516.70	40.42	1.63
SHANGHAI SE COMPOSITE IX	4717.73	14.69	0.31
TAIWAN TAIEX	7517.05	108.65	1.47
NIKKEI 225	13092.78	263.72	2.06
* as on Jan 24, 2355 Hrs (IST)                     ** as on Jan 24, 2230 Hrs (IST)

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers on Thursday also and domestic institutions were buyers. In the cash market the net sale of FIIs was Rs 2,259 crore, while domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 1,117 crore.

Net FII sales in the current month are Rs 23,222 crore, one of the highest in the cash market in recent times. 
 

TOP 5 SENSEX GAINERS
Name	Jan 24	% Chg*
HDFC	2613.50	3.22
Satyam Com	400.05	1.77
Reliance Comm.	624.60	1.64
SBI	2345.90	0.94
Bharti Airtel	852.35	0.66
TOP 5 SENSEX LOSERS
Name	Jan 24	% Chg*
NTPC	203.70	-8.94
Reliance Ener	1815.85	-8.75
L&T	3538.35	-5.62
Hindalco	152.05	-5.47
Bajaj Auto	2109.65	-4.76
* Over previous close

The small cap index also lost 3.95 per cent on Thursday. Real estate, power, metals, capital goods were major losers, registering falls that were faster than the Sensex.

Shares in ICICI Bank ended down 1.6 per cent at Rs 1,132.80, having been up as much as 8.3 per cent after Managing Director and CEO KV Kamath said the bank planned to raise up to $1 billion in a pre-IPO placement of ICICI Securities, its investment banking and broking arm.

HDFC Bank fell 1.8 per cent to Rs 1,507.20. The sector index lost 1.4 per cent.

Shares in Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro fell on heavy foreign fund selling. Reliance Industries fell 2.5 per cent to Rs 2,490.55, and L&T dropped 5.6 per cent to Rs 3,538.35.