Surge short-lived, Indian shares fall again after Monday mayhem

After an initial surge, Indian share markets fell again on Tuesday, in line with global cues, a day after the mayhem in global financial markets and a crash in China spooked a key Mumbai index into shedding some 1,625 points, or nearly 6 percent.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 25,916.26 points, against the previous close at 25,741.56 points, and a few minutes into trading it was ruling at 26,091.71 points, with a gain of 349.15 points, or 1.36 percent.

But around 11:30 in the morning, the index was ruling at 25,408.95 points, with a loss of 332.61 points or 1.29 percent. Five out of the 30 shares that go into the Sensex basket, however, managed to buck the trend and were ruling higher than the previous close.

Overall, in the volatile session of Tuesday, out of 2,416 stocks that were being traded, 1,981 were quoting lower, 373 of them advanced, while 12 others were unchanged.

A similar trend played out at the the National Stock Exchange (NSE), where the broader 50-share CNX Nifty was initially ruling higher at 7,910.45 points, with a gain of 101.35 points, or 1.30 percent. But it soon fell to 7,707 points, with a loss of 102 points, or 1.31 percent.

Weak global cues and the shock from China where the markets crashed over fears that its economy was slowing faster than expected sent Indian indices and the rupee into a tailspin on Monday. The Sensex logged its steepest closing fall in point-terms. The rupee fell to a two-year low.

Key US indices also took a tumble of around 4 percent. A day later, the investor sentiments continued to be grim globally. Tokyo's Nikkei opened nearly 2 percent lower on Tuesday, and the bloodbath in China continued unabated. The Shanghai Composite index opened 6.2 percent lower.