<div> Extending its losing run for a second straight day, the BSE Sensex slumped by 266.44 points to 24,020.98 on sustained foreign fund outflows, while IT stocks fell after Cognizant lowered revenue guidance for the year.<br /><br />The BSE Sensex after opening lower at 24,076.85 continued to slide on selling in blue-chips, forcing the index to touch a low of 23,919.47 before settling at 24,020.98, showing a loss of 266.44 points or 1.10 per cent. This was index's weakest closing since January 21.<br /><br />The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped below the psychological 7,300-mark by tumbling 89.05 points or 1.21 per cent to close at 7,298.20.<br /><br />As many as 20 Sensex stocks closed with losses, including Coal India, Tata Motors, TCS, Dr Reddy's, Infosys, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Cipla, Wipro, L&T and HDFC Bank.<br /><br />However, Lupin, Sun Pharma, NTPC, ONGC, GAIL, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.<br /><br />Among BSE sectoral indices, IT suffered the most at 3.40 per cent after a disappointing quarterly forecast from Cognizant followed by teck (2.98 pc), metal (2.47 pc), auto (1.78 pc), realty (1.50 pc), capital goods (1.32 pc) and banks (1.23 pc).<br /><br />The broader markets performed weak with the BSE mid-cap index falling 1.91 per cent and small-cap shedding 1.34 per cent.<br /><br />Disappointing corporate earnings and fears of a global slowdown forced investors to dump risky assets and move to safe haven options.<br /><br />In overseas market, most Asian markets plunged, tracking overnight sell-off in the US after oil prices tanked again on fears of a deepening economic slowdown.<br /><br />Japan's Nikkei crashed over 918.86 points or 5.40 per cent while Chinese and Hong Kong markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. <br /></div>
<div> Extending its losing run for a second straight day, the BSE Sensex slumped by 266.44 points to 24,020.98 on sustained foreign fund outflows, while IT stocks fell after Cognizant lowered revenue guidance for the year.<br /><br />The BSE Sensex after opening lower at 24,076.85 continued to slide on selling in blue-chips, forcing the index to touch a low of 23,919.47 before settling at 24,020.98, showing a loss of 266.44 points or 1.10 per cent. This was index's weakest closing since January 21.<br /><br />The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped below the psychological 7,300-mark by tumbling 89.05 points or 1.21 per cent to close at 7,298.20.<br /><br />As many as 20 Sensex stocks closed with losses, including Coal India, Tata Motors, TCS, Dr Reddy's, Infosys, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Cipla, Wipro, L&T and HDFC Bank.<br /><br />However, Lupin, Sun Pharma, NTPC, ONGC, GAIL, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.<br /><br />Among BSE sectoral indices, IT suffered the most at 3.40 per cent after a disappointing quarterly forecast from Cognizant followed by teck (2.98 pc), metal (2.47 pc), auto (1.78 pc), realty (1.50 pc), capital goods (1.32 pc) and banks (1.23 pc).<br /><br />The broader markets performed weak with the BSE mid-cap index falling 1.91 per cent and small-cap shedding 1.34 per cent.<br /><br />Disappointing corporate earnings and fears of a global slowdown forced investors to dump risky assets and move to safe haven options.<br /><br />In overseas market, most Asian markets plunged, tracking overnight sell-off in the US after oil prices tanked again on fears of a deepening economic slowdown.<br /><br />Japan's Nikkei crashed over 918.86 points or 5.40 per cent while Chinese and Hong Kong markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. <br /></div>