Sensex down for 4th straight week;dips 189 pts on global probs

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex continued its downward march for the fourth straight week, tumbling 189 points to end at two-month low of 26,108.53 after plunging below the 26,000-level during the truncated week under review on global growth worries and capital outflows.

The BSE and the NSE were closed on October 15, 2014 on account of assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

The Sensex resumed slightly lower at 26,275.07 but tried to recover to log a high of 26,550.79 on better-than-expected Chinese trade data and fall in global crude oil prices to near 4-year low that will help India to contain current account and fiscal deficit.

However, heavy sell-off across the board on Thursday due to concerns over the global growth worries pulled the world stock markets down.

Besides, depreciation in rupee to over 7-month low at 61.93 against the US dollar on risk-aversion, weighed negatively on the bourses.

As a result, it dropped below 26,000-mark after two months to a low of 25,910.77 before recovering some ground following smart rise in banking shares on the last day of the week to settle at 26,108.53, still exhibiting a fall of 188.85 points, or 0.72 per cent.
It also got support at the fag-end on hopes that the BJP will be in a strong position in state election results in Maharashtra and Haryana which would give a much-needed boost to economic reforms.

The Sensex has lost 981.89 points, or 3.62 per cent, in straight four weeks.
The broad-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also dipped by 80.25 points, or 1.02 per cent, to end at 7,779.70.

In last four weeks, it has stumbled by 341.75 points or 4.21 per cent.Shares of realty giant DLF crashed by 27.34 per cent in the week after Sebi imposed a three-year ban on the company and six top executives from securities markets and as a result the realty index was the top loser from the sectoral indices.

IT shares also suffered heavily as the rupee plunged to over seven-month low as well as country's largest software services exporter, TCS, announced below-market-expectations second quarter results.

Selling was so strong that 11 out of 12 sectoral indices finished in the red between 10.20 per cent and 0.59 per cent with realty, IT, tech, consumer durable, oil & gas and auto segments taking the lead in the downslide while only banks ended with smart gains on fag-end buying.

Subdued index of domestic industrial production (IIP) growth in August at 0.4 per cent also weighed negatively on the market.

Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) sold shares worth net Rs 3,748.82 crore during the week as per the SEBI's record, including the provisional figure of October 17.
Retail inflation dropped to 6.46 per cent in September on falling prices of fruits and vegetables, the lowest since India started computing Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January 2012. The September wholesale price inflation also fell to five year low of 2.38 per cent.

"Growth fears and disappointing US economic data has sent shares falling across Europe. Indian markets are afraid about the withdrawal of stimulus by US Fed," said Rakesh Goyal, Senior VP, Bonanza Portfolio.