Global factors weighed on Indian bourses, which beat a hasty retreat in the week under review and fell by 4.29 per cent due to negative FII activity and a cautious approach by investors.

In the week to November 24, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share Sensex moved widely in a range of 19,971.44 and 18,182.83 before ending the week at 18,852.87, a net loss of 845.49 points from last weekend’s close of 19,698.36.

The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) tumbled by 298.25 points or 5.0 per cent to close the week at 5,608.60 from previous weekend’s close of 5,906.85.

Bank shares

Global stocks received a severe beating on worries of widening U.S. mortgage losses after a forecast of more write-downs by the Citigroup resulting in a downgrade of the bank’s shares in Wall Street and in turn, adversely impacted Indian markets.

The US Federal Reserve’s concerns about the economic growth, which is expected to slow in 2008 and skyrocketting crude prices were also seen as negative factors in the week. The market registered the third biggest fall of 678.18 points on November 21 on reported about a likely hike in the securities transaction tax (STT).

Main driver

The main driver, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were heavy net sellers throughout.

They pull out a massive Rs 3,321 crore in equity in the initial three days of the week while selling off shares worth Rs 5,672 crore in derivatives. Foreign Institutional Investors are net sellers to the tune of 3,839.60 crore so far in November.