Black Friday: Sensex sheds over 1,070 points to close at 8,701.07

24 October 2008

It was a worst day in the history of the Indian Capital markets. The benchmark indices have collapsed like a pack of card on account of relentless selling pressure in the heavyweights. The Sensex and the Nifty have seen sharp cut; closed down over 11 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. Credit Suisse said that the recession has already begun in the US, UK and Eurozone.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,070.63 points or 10.96 per cent, to settle at 8,701.07. It had plunged 1,204.88 points during the day and hit an intraday low of 8,566.82. The 50-share NSE Nifty closed down by 359.15 points or 12.20 per cent at 2584, after touching intraday low of 2525.05.

The panic selling has been seen across the globe. The Dow Futures hit the limit down, which signalled massive sell off. The S&P 500 Futures also hit the limit down. European markets tumbled on weak earnings reports and economic fears. FTSE, CAC and DAX were down 7.5-9.5 per cent, at 4 pm.

Among the Asian markets, Kospi closed down by 10.57 per cent and Nikkei fell 9.6 per cent. Hang Seng and Straits Times plunged over 8.3 per cent each. Shanghai, Taiwan and Jakarta lost 1.92 per cent, 3.19 per cent and 6.91 per cent, respectively.

The Credit Suisse feels that the United States, United Kingdom and Eurozone are in the recession.

The UK GDP has declined 0.5 per cent on the quarter-on-quarter basis, which was the first contraction since 1992. Commodities are also feeling the heat of this free fall in the global markets. Gold fell below USD 700 per ounce to a new 13-month low. The crude was trading at around USD 64.5 to a barrel on the NYMEX.