Nifty ends below 3000 for 1st time since 24 July 2006

23 October 2008

It was another dismal session for the market. Benchmark indices washed out completely; the Nifty has closed below 3000 for the first time since July 24, 2006. The BSE Sensex ended below 10000 yet again, after last week. FM statement on short positions could not helped out markets. Negative global cues and severe fall in the metal stocks led this crash.

However, the markets recoverd sharply to turn in green post FM announcement of SEBI asking FIIs to reverse short positions on borrowed shares but recovery did not last too long & fizzled out as viciously as it had gain.

Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum, Bharti Airtel, SAIL, SBI, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, Tata Motors and Hindalco were big contributors to this fall.

Both benchmark indices have closed below their psychological levels. The Sensex plunged 398.20 points or 3.92%, to settle at 9,771.70. It has touched an intraday low of 9,681.28 and high of 10,260.55. The NSE Nifty Fifty closed at 2943.15, down 122 points or 3.98% from previous close. It has hit a high/low of 3085.10 and 2917.15.

The bigger loser of the day was BSE metal index. It crashed quite harshly, down 11.08% or 622.53 points at 4,996.92. NALCO, Hindalco, JSL and Jindal Steel tumbled 11-14%. Hindustan Zinc, Welspun Gujarat, JSW Steel and Sterlite Industries fell 7.5-10%.

Tata Steel has hit new 52-week low of Rs 205.70. It was down by Rs 36.35, or 14.85% at Rs 208.45 and traded with volumes of 4,661,381 shares, an increase of 82% compared to its 5-day average of 2,564,641 shares.