Mayhem on Dalal Street as investors dump stocks

The Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index 'Sensex' plunged over 800 points in intra-day trades on Friday, while the National Stock Exchange 50-share index `Nifty' index suffered its biggest one-day drop since July 2009 as investors dumped stocks amidst capital control measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to prop up the rupee.

The Sensex was down 769.41 points (or -3.97 per cent) at 18,598.18 at close of trading on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) index Nifty closed at 5,507.85, down 234.45 points (or -4.08 per cent), as investors booked profit.

The fall seemed to be a sequel to the capital control measures adopted by the RBI, with stocks continuing to chase the high-value dollar.

RBI, late on Wednesday, announced measures to restrict overseas investments by Indian citizens and companies, which seemed to undermine the confidence of foreign investors.

With stocks like Yes Bank, Bank of India, BHEL shedding over 10 per cent of their market value and L&T, MCX, Punjab National Bank (-7.00 per cent), SpiceJet and UCO Bank hitting 52-week lows, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at 18,598.18, down 769.41 points (or 3.97 per cent).

It touched a high of 19,310.95 and a low of 18,559.65 in today's trading.

Some of the top losers included companies like Titan Industries, Future Retail, Yes Bank, Reliance Comm, Jaiprakash Associates, BHEL and JP Power, which reported losses above 10 per cent.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange (NSE) index closed at 5,507.85, down 234.45 points or 4.08 per cent.

It touched a high of 5,716.60 and a low of 5,496.05 in trade today.

Weakness in rupee, which hit a fresh low of 62.03 against the US dollar in intraday trade, has been a major drag on markets.

Foreign institutional investors, which have been crucial players in the Indian stock markets for most part of the 2012 rally, seem to have lost interest in 2013, and have, instead, reversed flows.