Global cues hit the markets

Benchmark Sensex down 627 points; Nifty goes below 4,400 mark

The session opened with a big gap down of 80 points on Nifty due to weak Asian cues and more pronounced in this were Chinese stocks which plunged to their lowest level on renewed jitters over the economic outlook and government policy.

So much so, key benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty plunged below the psychological 15,000 and 4,400 marks respectively.
 Stocks across all sectors collapsed with those from realty, metal, banking and auto gripped firmly under sell-off, while all the 30 shares from Sensex pack plunged too.It is significant to note that this is the highest fall after the Budget day this year, with the broader indices too fairing badly. It is not just external factors which dampened the sentiment in Dalal Street but domestic factors like the current drought condition – especially the Government data pointing out that rainfall was 29 per cent below normal as of August 12 – have already wrought havoc on investor sentiment. In this context, Nomura Securities adds: India’s economic growth could slow to about 5.5 per cent this fiscal hurt by a poor monsoon.

Factors for the crash

At the close of the day the BSE Sensex was down 626.71 points or 4.07 per cent to close at 14,785 points. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty at NSE was down 192.15 points or 4.20 per cent to settle at 4,388 points at the closing.
 
Broader indices at BSE too faired badly, with BSE Mid-cap index dropped by 3.90 per cent and BSE Small cap index shedding 3.13 per cent. BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4,959.21 crore lower than Rs 5,649.97 crore on Friday last. In all, total traded turnover stood at Rs 91,347.93 crore on this day, which envisages Rs 15,405.54 crore from the NSE cash segment, while the Futures & Options from NSE accounted for Rs 70,983.18 crore. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak.

On BSE, 655 shares advanced as compared with 1915 stocks that declined and 79 scrips remainting static.  From the Sensex pack, all players fell on the first day of the week.
Meanwhile during the day, European shares were lower meaning retreat for a second day as investors became cautious on global recovery hopes.

The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were down by about 1.85 to 2.1 per cent. Asian stocks dropped for the first time in three days after an unexpected decline in a U.S. consumer confidence index raised concern about the strength of a revival in global growth.

The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan fell by 1.95 to 5.79 per cent. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 3.1 per cent even as a government report showed the country’s economy grew for the first time in five quarters.Meanwhile, trading at the US index futures indicated Dow could fall 182 points at the opening bell on August 17, 2009.