Heavyweights, global markets sell off; Nifty ends near 2700

21 January 2009

The benchmark indices saw a significant sell-off led by heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Wipro, HDFC, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, BHEL, SBI and SAIL. Disappointing earnings from HDFC, Wipro and likely weak numbers from Reliance Industries made the markets to dip sharply lower. Weak global cues was another reason that fuelled the negative sentiment.

It was the second consecutive day that markets were reeling under huge selling pressure. The 50-share Nifty went below 2700 in late trade and hit an intraday low of 2690.20 but managed to claw back above the same level. It shut shop at 2706.15, down 3.23% or 90.45 points from previous close. The 30-share BSE Sensex broke 9000 mark and touched an intraday low of 8,734.93. It shed 321.38 points, to close at 8,779.17, down 3.53% (Also See: Top Losers).

Heavyweights were the real culprits for today's massive sell-off. Financials and oil & gas stocks witnessed huge selling pressure.

HDFC plunged 7.55%, after its third quarter earnings. Its net profit stood at Rs 547 crore versus Rs 649 crore. The net profit was boosted by exceptional gain of Rs 121 crore. Net profit was at Rs 547 crore versus Rs 528 crore, after excluding exceptional gain.

BSE Bankex tanked 3.91% or 188.87 points at 4,644.94. ICICI Bank went down 7.12%. SBI and HDFC Bank fell over 2.5%.

Oil & Gas was another space, which took huge beating in today's trade ahead of Reliance Industries earnings, which market is forecasting lower earnings this quarter. The stock plummeted 5.33% and ONGC lost 1.73%. BSE Oil & Gas Index was down 221.56 points or 3.78% at 5,642.03. Oil marketing companies like HPCL, IOC and BPCL were down 1.6-2%.