Nifty below 7500, Sensex crashes 348 points; midcaps bleed

03:50 pm Gainers
Amidst the sharp sell-off, IT, pharma and FMCG stocks held on to green. Buoyed up by surprsing April-June quarter margins, Infosys remained in buyers' radar, ending the day with 1 percent gains. Other tech stocks like TCS and Wipro too followed suit with 1-3 percent profit.

Another stock that was a buyer's favourite today was ITC which too went home with a 1 percent return. Brokerages are bullish on the stock and advise to buy it hoping for a price hikes to offset excise duty hike. HUL was up 2 percent.

Other gainers in the Sensex were Sun Pharma andDr Reddy's Labs.

03:35 pm Market closing
Both Sensex, Nifty ended at 5-week closing low dragged by heavy profit booking. The benchmark indices marked biggest weekly fall since March 2013. The Sensex was down 348.40 points or 1.4 percent at 25024.35, and the Nifty fell 108.15 points or 1.4 percent at 7459.60.

About 718 shares advanced, 2215 shares declined, and 71 shares were unchanged.

Banks, capital goods, metals and realty stocks were beaten out of shape in today's trade. BHEL was down 9 percent, Hindalco lost 6 percent while SBI, L&T and Tata Steel were other losers in the Sensex.

Both midcaps and smallcaps which had seen robust rally in the run up to the Budget saw massive selling today. Both the indices fell around 3 percent each.

03:30 pm European market check
European stocks opened firmer and lower-rated government bond prices edged up on Friday, as markets settled after a broad pullback overnight on concerns about Portugal's banking sector that highlighted contagion risk in the euro zone.

European shares were still on track to post a sharp weekly loss as investors reassess stretched valuations for global equities amid a slower-than-expected pace of economic recovery in the euro zone.

Espirito Santo had plunged 19 percent on Thursday before trading was halted, sending ripples across Europe, US and Asia trading and bucking a months-long trend of low volatility and positive sentiment for stock markets driven by steady monetary support from major central banks.

03:22 pm Market check: The Sensex is down 377.08 points or 1.49 percent at 24995.67, and the Nifty is down 116.35 points or 1.54 percent at 7451.40. About 680 shares have advanced, 2223 shares declined, and 76 shares are unchanged.

03:10 FII view
Geoffrey Dennis, Head-Global Emerging Market Strategies at UBS expects Indian shares to gain another 5-6 percent near term. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said the Budget was in-line with market expectations and that it was a fiscally prudent one. Lewis sees the market consolidating near term and the run up over the last couple of months. He sees the Budget will help kickstart the investment cycle. He expects the economy to grow 5.5-6.0% next year and is of the view that India is a strong earnings growth market in the global emerging markets space.

03:00pm Market remains under pressure
The Sensex fell 308.72 points or 1.22 percent to 25064.03 and the Nifty lost 102.50 points or 1.35 percent to 7465.25. About 704 shares have advanced, 2158 shares declined, and 73 shares are unchanged.

02:55pm Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal said, "We are working with authorities to resume mining operations in Goa. We are in talks with Odisha government for bauxite supply for Lanjigarh."

"We are targetting 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Rajasthan and expects reserve replacement ratio at 150 percent in next three years," he added.

02:50pm Cera Sanitary falls despite good nos in Q1
Cera Sanitary has reported first quarter (April-June) net profit at Rs 13.6 crore, increased from Rs 11.1 crore in same quarter last year. Net sales jumped to Rs 162.3 crore from Rs 126.6 crore during the same period.

02:40pm Jain Irrigation plunges 8%
Jain Irrigation Systems saw selling pressure on a 21 percent reduction in overall subsidy under National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in hits maiden Union Budget 2014-15.

Subsidy provided under this mission can be used for multiple purposes, which include climate change issues, water conservation, water management and water efficiency issues, issues of soil fertility and sustainability of natural resources use and rain-fed agriculture, and micro irrigation scheme.

According to Morgan Stanley, whilst there is ambiguity on earmarking mechanism for various items within the scheme itself, the headline reduction in subsidy is contrary to market expectations and is likely to be taken negatively by the street.

The brokerage house reiterated underweight rating on the stock, saying risk-reward on Jain Irrigation after 80 percent stock outperformance over the last three months is not compelling.

02:30pm FII View
With the Budget now behind, earnings and policy moves will drive the market hereon, says Abhay P Laijawala, MD & Head of Research, Deutsche Equities India.

The brokerage has a target of 28,000 for the Sensex by December, and is bullish on metals, domestic cyclicals, IT, and oil & gas.

Laijawala says the Budget was a sober statement on the need for fiscal consolidation, but cautions that fiscal consolidation cannot be achieved without rationalisation of subsidies.

The Budget did not lay a clear roadmap for trimming subsidies other than saying that the subsidy structure would be overhauled. He sees PSU banks as the key beneficiaries if the government is able to stick to its fiscal consolidation plan, which in turn would lead to a cooling of interest rates.

02:20pm ITC on buyers' radar
A feeble Indian market dragged by massive selling and even government's decision to hike excise duty on cigarettes by 11-72 percent has not deterred investors to buy shares of ITC. The stock rose nearly a percent.

Excise duty on cigarettes is being increased by about 72 percent for cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm and by 11-21 percent for cigarettes of other lengths. This is the first time ever that excise tax has been raised by over 18 percent for three consecutive years. Most analysts are bullish on the stock stating that the duty hike is not as bad as feared and that ITC will hike prices to beat tax load.

Macquarie maintains an outperform rating with a target price of Rs 421 as it expects ITC to hike prices at 16 percent average to offset the additional duty burden and improve profitability. It estimates cigarette volumes to declinte 4 percent in FY15E and thereby cuts FY15E and FY16E EPS estimates by 4-5 percent.

02:10pm Market Expert
Nilesh Shah, MD & CEO, Envision Capital believes there is a case right now for the market to consolidate.

''It is quite possible for the next one quarter or so, the truly defensives-like technology, pharma, consumer-these could actually outperform while the rest of the sectors get into some consolidation,'' he told CNBC-TV18.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks slid further in afternoon trade on hefty profit booking in infrastructure, banking & financials, metals and oil & gas stocks. The Sensex fell 297.01 points or 1.17 percent to 25075.74 and the Nifty lost 93.30 points or 1.23 percent to 7474.45.

About 684 shares have advanced, 2105 shares declined, and 75 shares are unchanged.

BHEL kept its top position in the selling list, falling 7.5 percent followed by SBI, Larsen & Toubro, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, NMDC and DLF with 4-6.5 percent.

However, the buying continued in healthcare, technology and FMCG shares. TCS, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs gained more than 2 percent. Infosys, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro and Hero Motocorp climbed 1-1.5 percent.

1:50 Drug recall: Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, a subsidiary of Sun Pharma, has initiated recall of some lots of Venlafaxine Hydrochloride extended-release tablets from the US market.

According to a notification by the FDA, the recall of 26,530 units of 30-count bottles and 14,597 units of 90-count bottles is voluntarily initiated by the company through a letter to the regulator last month under 'Class-II' classification.

Venlafaxine Hydrochloride extended-release tablets are indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder. "Stability results found the product did not meet the drug release dissolution specifications," the regulator's website said.

1:40 pm US lauds Budget: The maiden Budget of the Modi government has been hailed by American experts and corporate sector here as a step in the right direction to generate employment and foster growth.

They said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has opened the door to a much wider level of US involvement in India's development plans in the coming years.

Balanced, measured, and thoughtful: a terrific first budget for the Modi government. American investors are now revitalised by the positive changes taking shape in India," said long-time India watcher Ron Somers of the recently formed India First Group.

1:30 pm Market outlook: Yesterday's market correction was based on global concerns not the Union Budget, says Madhusudan Kela, Chief Investment Strategist at Reliance. For him, Arun Jaitley's maiden Budget was on expected lines. "I did not have large expectations from a six-week old government,'' he says, however, admitting it could have been better.

Post Budget, Kela believes investor's patience will be tested.

1:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of ITC were up over 2 percent intraday on Friday. A feeble Indian market dragged by massive selling and even government's decision to hike excise duty on cigarettes by 11-72 percent has not deterred investors to buy shares of ITC.

Excise duty on cigarettes is being increased by about 72 percent for cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm and by 11-21 percent for cigarettes of other lengths. This is the first time ever that excise tax has been raised by over 18 percent for three consecutive years. Most analysts are bullish on the stock stating that the duty hike is not as bad as feared and that ITC will hike prices to beat tax load.

Macquarie maintains an outperform rating with a target price of Rs 421 as it expects ITC to hike prices at 16 percent average to offset the additional duty burden and improve profitability. It estimates cigarette volumes to declinte 4 percent in FY15E and thereby cuts FY15E and FY16E EPS estimates by 4-5 percent.

The heady swing that was seen on Budget day is back to Dalal Street. The Sensex is down 249.08 points at 25123.67 and the Nifty down 81.65 points at 7486.10. About 693 shares have advanced, 1959 shares declined, and 84 shares are unchanged.

BHEL is down 6 percent while Hindalco falls 4 percent. HDFC, Coal India and SBI are other major losers in the Sensex.

IT index outperforms, Infosys is up nearly a percent after its margins surprised positively. Q1 EBIT margins expand to 25.1 percent versus an estimate of 22.8 percent on account of cost optimisation. Dollar revenue growth at 2 percent was slightly shy of market estimates.

In the money market space, 10-year yield hardens further on selling and caution ahead of the auction. Meanwhile the rupee is trading weak

Globally, Asian markets trade mixed with Nikkei at a two-week low. Europe too is subdued in trade on fears of debt issues in Portugal. In other asset classes, gold is at a two-month high.

12:45pm Infosys holds 1% upmove post Q1 nos
Infosys, the second largest software services exporter in India, has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,886 crore in April-June quarter, degrowth of 3.5 percent compared to Rs 2,992 crore in previous quarter. Year-on-year growth in profit was 21.6 percent.

Bottomline as well as operating performance were better-than-expectations while revenue was inline.

"Big surprise on the margin. They certainly can do a better job on bringing down attrition rates. That is something that people are focused on. The revenue line was okay. We have seen an improvement in North America. We have seen improvement in some of the more critical verticals like retail. It has been problematic for the industry for couple of quarters now. Net-net, I would stay positive," says Moshe Katri, MD, Cowen & Co.

12:35pm FY15 Fiscal Deficit target achievable?
Taimur Baig, chief economist-India Global Markets Research, Deutsche Bank AG does not expect the Narendra Modi led-government to achieve fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) set by UPA for the year ending March 2015.

According to him, if there is a huge pickup in economic buoyancy that raises tax revenues and if global fuel prices fall severely then there may be a slight change to achieve a fiscal deficit target of low 4 percent. He adds that the base case scenario would be about 0.5 percent of GDP slippage from the current target.

12:25pm Morgan Stanley raised its June 2015 target for the Sensex by 9 percent to 28,800, saying the budget on Thursday would help revive investor sentiment and boost earnings.

12:20pm Midcap, Smallcaps fall too
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap fell 1.5 percent each, which is higher than the equity benchmarks.

Among midcaps, Jain Irrigation, GMR Infrastructure, Voltas, Andhra Bank and IDBI Bank tanked 6-9 percent while Aurobindo Pharma, VST Industries, Vakrangee, Godfrey Phillip and WABCO India gained 4-5 percent.

In the smallcap space, Excel Crop Care, Ponni Sugars(E), Sagar Cement, Foseco India and Atul Auto rallied 4-5 percent whereas ITI, Polaris Technology, Ganesh Housing, Mangalam Cement and Hindustan Media slipped 6-10 percent.

12:10pm Govt may exceed divestment target
Brokerage house Kotak Securities sees a possibility of the government exceeding its divestment target of Rs 63,425 crore for this year, but cautions that it could be a double-edged sword.

''We see the high divestment figure as a double-edged sword,'' says the Kotak note to clients.

''On the one hand, it will help the government to show fiscal improvement. Also, it may compel the government to finally address the regulatory uncertainty that afflicts several sectors and government-owned companies, especially the energy sector PSUs that have been historically burdened with high subsidies and a haphazard subsidy sharing arrangement,'' the note says.

According to the brokerage's estimates, the government can raise upto USD 60 billion, if it decides to trim its stake in every listed PSU to 51 percent. In addition, the value of its stake in private companies Hindustan Zinc, L&T, Axis Bank and ITC alone amounts to a little over USD 12 billion.

12:00pm The market lost ground in late morning trade with the 50-share NSE Nifty breaking 7500 level, down 65.2 points to 7502.55 while the 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 213.9 points to 25158.84 weighed down by oil & gas, infrastructure and banking & financials stocks.

About 911 shares have advanced, 1584 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries and state-run power equipment maker BHEL topped the selling list, falling 4.5-5 percent followed by HDFC, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Coal India, Gail and Tata Power with 2-2.5 percent.

Shares of L&T, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, ONGC and Sesa Sterlite declined more than 1.5 percent whereas FMCG, healthcare and technology stocks continued to see buying interest.

ITC, TCS, Infosys, Sun Pharma, HUL, Dr Reddy's Labs and Hero Motocorp gained 1-2 percent followed by Wipro and Cipla with over 0.7 percent rise.

12:00 pm Result analysis: Moshe Katri, MD, Cowen & Co is surprised on Infosy's margin. "They certainly can do a better job on bringing down attrition rates. That is something that people are focused on. The revenue line was okay. We have seen an improvement in North America. We have seen improvement in some of the more critical verticals like retail. It has been problematic for the industry for couple of quarters now. Net-net, I would stay positive," he said. 

11:50 am FM interview: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is confident that his government will be able to stick to the 4.1 percent fiscal deficit target even though rating agencies have voiced skepticism about the Budget estimates.

"This is not the end, this is just the start of the journey," Jaitley said in an interview to CNBC-TV18. He said that he would prefer to lower fiscal deficit by boosting revenues rather than cutting down on expenditure. He said that his task was to provide an initial roadmap for the economy, and he has been able to do that. He said that rating agencies have to be a bit more realistic when rating India.

11:40 am Drug recall: Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, a subsidiary of Sun Pharma, has initiated recall of some lots of Venlafaxine Hydrochloride extended-release tablets from the US market.

According to a notification by the FDA, the recall of 26,530 units of 30-count bottles and 14,597 units of 90-count bottles is voluntarily initiated by the company through a letter to the regulator last month under 'Class-II' classification.

Venlafaxine Hydrochloride extended-release tablets are indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder. "Stability results found the product did not meet the drug release dissolution specifications," the regulator's website said.

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company rallied 5 percent intraday Friday on getting LOA (letter of award) for EPC pipeline laying contract worth Rs 213 crore.

"IL&FS has bagged an EPC contract from Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, for laying of pipeline from land fall point, Mangalore port to Mangalore/Padur Cavern via intermediate valve station for storage of crude oil project," says the company in its filing.

11:20 am IIP poll: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the month of May is expected to be 3.76 percent versus 3.4 percent. However, the range could be anywhere between 3 to 4.3 percent. There are some outlier estimates for IIP to be anywhere between 0.8 to 6 percent, which shows that a lot of volatility is expected from the figure. Some of the cues that one could look at are the base effect which may be favourable for the IIP figure. For example in May 2013 the IIP contracted 2.5 percent with manufacturing contracting 3.2 percent.

11:10 am FII view: Brokerage house Kotak Securities sees a possibility of the government exceeding its divestment target of Rs 63,425 crore for this year, but cautions that it could be a double-edged sword.

''We see the high divestment figure as a double-edged sword,'' says the Kotak note to clients.

''On the one hand, it will help the government to show fiscal improvement. Also, it may compel the government to finally address the regulatory uncertainty that afflicts several sectors and government-owned companies, especially the energy sector PSUs that have been historically burdened with high subsidies and a haphazard subsidy sharing arrangement,'' the note says.

The market seems to be taking rest and consolidating after the heady swing seen yesterday. The Sensex is down 69.42 points at 25303.33 and the Nifty is down 15.50 points at 7552.25. About 1105 shares have advanced, 1149 shares declined, and 97 shares are unchanged.

Sun Pharma, TCS, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hero Motocorp and ITC are top gainers while HDFC, Hindalco, GAIL, ONGC and Reliance are losers in the Sensex.

Gold futures fell 0.15 percent to Rs 28,570 per 10 grams today as speculators offloaded positions to book profits even as the metal traded at nearly four-month high overseas. Market analysts said the fall in gold futures was mostly due to profit-booking by speculators after recent gains but a firming trend in precious metal overseas as rising tension in the Middle East boosted safe-haven demand, capped the losses. Meanwhile, gold prices rose 0.11 percent to USD 1,336.80 an ounce in Singapore.

11:00am Broader space
In the midcap space, State Bank of Mysore, VST Industries, State Bank of Bikaner, Aurobindo Pharma and State Bank of Travancore gained 5-7 percent while Suzlon Energy, CESC, Voltas, Solar Industries and Andhra Bank fell 3.5-4.5 percent.

Among smallcaps, Ahlcon Parent, Oscar Investment, Marathon Realty, Gujarat Ambuja Exports and Sundram rallied 5-11 percent whereas ITI, BEML, Titagarh Wagons, Ponni Sugars(E) and PFL Infotech fell 5-6 percent.

10:40am Kotak Mahindra Bank on buyers' radar
The Reserve Bank of India has notified that the share holdings by foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/registered foreign portfolios investors (RFPIs) under portfolio investment scheme in Kotak Mahindra Bank have gone below the prescribed threshold limit stipulated under the extant FDI Policy. Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company are withdrawn with immediate effect.

10:30am FII View
Geoffrey Dennis, Head-Global Emerging Market Strategies at UBS expects Indian shares to gain another 5-6 percent near term.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said the Budget was in-line with market expectations and that it was a fiscally prudent one.

He sees the Budget will help kickstart the investment cycle. He expects the economy to grow 5.5-6 percent next year and is of the view that India is a strong earnings growth market in the global emerging markets space.

10:20am May industrial output data today
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the month of May is expected to be 3.76 percent versus 3.4 percent. However, the range could be anywhere between 3 to 4.3 percent.

There are some outlier estimates for IIP to be anywhere between 0.8 to 6 percent, which shows that a lot of volatility is expected from the figure.

Some of the cues that one could look at are the base effect which may be favourable for the IIP figure. For example in May 2013 the IIP contracted 2.5 percent with manufacturing contracting 3.2 percent.

10:10am Market Expert
Dipan Mehta, member, BSE & NSE says the Budget is done and over with and now the focus will be on earnings season. By and large the Budget presented by the new government was just an extension of the previous one.

Niether neither the industry nor the market stands to gain much from the Budget, he adds

10:00am Equity benchmarks remained rangebound after seeing selling pressure in previous three sessions on profit booking. The Sensex rose 29.33 points to 25402.08 and the Nifty advanced 11.70 points to 7579.45. About 1074 shares have advanced, 854 shares declined, and 78 shares are unchanged.

Technology, healthcare and FMCG stocks continued to support the market while the weakness in banking and financials, oil and gas, and metals capped the upside.

Shares of Sun Pharma, Cipla, TCS, Tata Power, Dr Reddy's Labs, IDFC and Tech Mahindra topped the buying list, up 1.5-3 percent while Gail, HDFC, Hindalco, SBI, M&M, NMDC, BPCL and United Spirits lost 1-2 percent.

Infosys was the most active stock today, up over a percent after reporting better performance on margin front during April-June quarter. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) declined 2.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 3,211 crore and margin slipped 40 basis points to 25.1 percent, which came in far better than analysts' expectations of Rs 2,924 crore and 22.8 percent, respectively.

India's second largest software services exporter reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,886 crore in April-June quarter, degrowth of 3.5 percent compared to Rs 2,992 crore in previous quarter. Infosys maintained its revenue growth guidance for the current financial year 2014-15 at 7-9 percent, saying it expects revenue in rupee terms to grow by 5.6-7.6 percent. Outlook for FY15 was based on conversion rate of 60 per dollar.

9:55 am Results: Infosys, the largest software services exporter in India, has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,886 crore in April-June quarter, degrowth of 3.5 percent compared to Rs 2,992 crore in previous quarter.

Bottomline as well as operating performance were better-than-expectations while revenue was inline. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts had expected the company to report net profit oRs 2,667 crore on revenue of Rs 12,814 crore for the quarter.

Consolidated revenue fell 0.8 percent to Rs 12,770 crore during April-June quarter from Rs 12,875 crore in previous quarter and dollar revenue stood at USD 2,133 million, up 1.95 percent on sequential basis. Analysts had estimated dollar revenue at USD 2140 million for the quarter.

Infosys maintained its revenue growth guidance for the current financial year 2014-15 at 7-9 percent, saying it expects revenue in rupee terms to grow by 5.6-7.6 percent. Outlook for FY15 was based on conversion rate of 60 per dollar.

9:45 am FII view: Rakesh Arora, Macquarie says the Indian economy is well on track to go back to over 7 percent growth rate by FY17. ''The government is focused on kick starting the investment cycle and building infrastructure, so we believe it is prudent to remain overweight on domestic cyclical sectors like banks, industrials and materials,'' he adds.

According to him, with the Budget out of the way, market can focus on fundamentals. ''Ahead of earnings, we expect a strong show relative to expectations. Key largecap picks are ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and L&T. Key midcap picks are IRB Infrastructure, Sobha Developers and Gujarat Pipavav,'' he adds.

9:35 am Brokerages view on Budget: Brokerages are positive about the government's intent to focus on fiscal consolidation. Bank of America Merrill Lynch remains bullish on the markets and maintains a Sensex target of 27,000 by year-end. Its large cap buys Maruti, ICICI Bank, SBI, OIL and Ultratech.

CLSA feels beneficiaries from the Budget announcements are banks, IDFC, HDFC, lease asset owners (DLF, Phoenix, Prestige), road asset owners (L&T, IRB).  ITC is negatively impacted by the excise duty hikes.

9:25 am Market check: The market picks up pace. The Sensex is up 92.10 points at 25464.85, and the Nifty up 44.20 points at 7611.95. About 802 shares have advanced, 367 shares declined, and 28 shares are unchanged.

Nothing much changes in Dalal Street, a day after Budget. After a mild spike in opening, the market slipped into red. The Sensex is down 34.43 points at 25338.32 and the Nifty down 8.40 points at 7559.35. About 415 shares have advanced, 219 shares declined, and 19 shares are unchanged.

Big mover today is Infosys after it posted better-than expected April-June quarter earnings. The stock is up 3 percent. Wipro, Tata Motors, ITC and TCS are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are M&M, GAIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto and HDFC Bank.

The Indian rupee slipped in early trade. It opened lower by 11 paise at 60.30 per dollar versus 60.19 Thursday.The yen is poised to end the week higher as a fall in global equities lifted demand for the safe-haven currency.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said that, ''Expect market to trade sideways today and it will take cues from global markets for further directions.The rupee is expected to trade range-bound to slightly positive for the day as FIIs buying in the market will help rupee to trade firm. Range for the day seen between 59.30-60.30/dollar."

Concerns about the financial health of the European banking system after signs of financial stress in Portugal lead global equity markets lower.

US stocks retained sizable losses on Thursday, but recouped more than half of a steep dive. Asia stocks also joined global rout. Nikkei and Kospi was at 2-week low on the back of a stronger yen.

European markets ended the day lower on Thursday, with peripheral stocks leading the declines, as Portugal's PSI 20 index fell over 4 percent. The trading of shares in Banco Espirito Santo was suspended, after falling over 17 percent.

Brent crude prices slipped to USD 108 per barrel as supply fears eased. Gold was at a four-month high, up over a percent to USD 1340 an ounce on demand for safe haven rising.