Volatility gets the better of indices

Stocks across the board saw heightened volatility today. The Sensex, which ended 35 points weaker today, swung nearly 296 points or 3.74 per cent.

Most other indices also gyrated heavily as sentiment remained sluggish after a sustained fall in stock prices over the past few trading sessions.

The BSE Consumer Durables Index moved about 7.78 per cent falling from a high of 2301 to a low of 2133 before closing at 2159. The index was the biggest loser during the day with a loss of 4.44 per cent or 100 points.

The next most volatile index was BSE Metals, which see-sawed 6.20 per cent to end with a loss of 2.05 per cent at the end of the day. The BSE Small Cap, Capital Goods, FMCG and Bankex indices also oscillated over 5 per cent during intra-day trade.

Dealers attributed today's fall in the market to weaker buying coupled with active selling from institutional and retail investors. "Since the market seems to be on a correction phase, investors are not unwilling to make fresh purchases yet," a dealer said.