Nifty ends below 3400 on dismal global cues; Bankex dips 5 per cent

28 April 2009

The benchmark indices saw significant sell-off in today's trade and closed the session sharply lower due to weak global cues, which tanked on the renewed concerns over financial systems. Profit booking was seen in rate sensitives, infrastructure, telecom and oil & gas exploration. The Sensex broke the 11,000 mark during the day while the Nifty closed below 3,400 level.

Among the frontliners, DLF, Sterlite, Tata Steel, HDFC, Reliance Communication, Reliance Infrastructure, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank fell 6-8%. BHEL, Hindalco, HDFC Bank, L&T and SBI slipped 3-4%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed just above the 11K mark, at 11,001.75, down 370.10 points or 3.25%, after hitting a low of 10,961.76. The 50-share NSE Nifty touched a low of 3351.50, before ending 3.10% or 107.65 points lower at 3362.35.

Local traders were aggressively booking profits ahead of long weekend. High beta names in metals, realty and capital goods saw selling pressure by local players.

Ved Prakash Chaturvedi of Tata Mutual Fund said, "There is a global issue of the epidemic concerns, there is an expiry tomorrow and there is an entire issue of expectations of what companies will deliver in terms of earnings growth. It's a combination of all three; results that have come out have been as per expectation, we are not surprised as far as on the positive side and this addition concern with respect to the flu which is playing on everybody's mind plus some of the negative news flow which we have seen from overseas. All that is playing on market's mind, people are taking some profits ahead of the expiry."     

The broader indices witnessed huge selling pressure and underperformed the benchmark indices; the BSE Midcap Index fell 133.57 points or 3.73%, to settle at 3,450.71 and the Smallcap Index declined 3.45% or 138.82 points, to 3,888.32.