Markets choppy, Sensex slips 306 pts

Mumbai: The Sensex closed down over 305 points. The Nifty ended down over 98 points. All sectoral indices closed in red. Technology, auto, pharma, FMCG, capital goods and banking were the main draggers.

An intense sell off gripped the markets this afternoon. The Sensex registered its largest fall since black Monday on may 17, 2004, and the 4th largest fall ever.

The Sensex closed down 306.82 points or 2.63 per cent at 11,355.73. It has touched an intraday high of 11,702.77 and an intraday low of 11,302.78.

The Nifty closed down 98.45 points or 2.83 per cent at 3380. It touched an intraday high of 3484.65 and an intraday low of 3366.75.

The CNX Midcap ended down 102 points or 2.05 per cent at 4873.20. It touched an intraday high of 5010.95 and an intraday low of 4858.

The BSE Small Cap Index ended at 6,901.76, down 68.89 points. The BSE Midcap Index closed at 5,473.96, down 106.47 points or 1.91 per cent.

The market breadth was negative, about 951 shares advanced, 1526 shares declined, and 49 shares remained unchanged.

The total market turnover was at Rs 59356.89 crore. The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 10899.43 crore. The NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 43087.85 crore. The BSE cash turnover was at Rs 5369.61 crore.

TCS, Cipla, Maruti Udyog, Tata Motors, Grasim, Hero Honda, Satyam, VSNL, Jet Airways and MTNL were the biggest losers on the indices.

Technology stocks like Hexaware Tech, TCS, MphasiS BFL, Satyam, Patni Computer, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech and HCL Info witnessed huge selling pressure. The BSE IT Index closed at 3,961.09, down 3.66 per cent or 150.50 points.

Auto stocks including Escorts, Asahi India, TVS Motor, Maruti Udyog, Tata Motors, Hero Honda, M&M, Bharat Forge, Cummins and Ashok Leyland also skidded. The BSE Auto Index closed at 5,272.91, down 3.06 per cent or 166.50 points.

The BSE Healthcare Index ended down 2.67 per cent or 106.52 points at 3,887.39 amid losses in Cipla, Lupin, Apollo Hospital, Pfizer, Aurobindo Pharma, Novartis India, Ranbaxy Labs, Sterling Biotech and Aventis Pharma.

FMCG stocks like P&G, McDowell, Shaw Wallace, ITC, Colgate, HLL and Dabur India also slumped. The BSE FMCG Index closed down 2.61 per cent at 2,206.65.

Capital goods stocks including Praj Industries, Ingersoll Rand, Greaves Cotton, Alstom Projects, L&T, Carborundum, BEML, Gammon India, Bharat Electronics and Siemens also plummeted. The BSE Capital Goods Index closed down 2.44 per cent or 213.25 points at 8,529.23.

The BSE Bankex ended at 5,227.60, down 2.06 per cent or 110.15 points as selling is seen in UTI Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, SBI, Union Bank, Andhra Bank, ICICI Bank, IOB and PNB.

Metal stocks like Sesa Goa, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Jindal Saw, Sail, Guj NRE Coke, Nalco, Jindal Stainless and JSW Steel also ended in red. The BSE Metal Index closed down 125.12 points or 1.30 per cent at 9,499.58.

Consumer durables stocks including Titan Industries, BPL, Whirlpool and Su-Raj Diamonds also tripped. The BSE Consumer Durables Index ended down 1 per cent at 3,227.33.

The BSE Oil & Gas Index closed at 5,001.97, down 0.77 per cent due to profit booking in IOC, Petronet LNG, Chennai Petro, Gail, Reliance, ONGC and Kochi Refineries.