Sensex falls 300 points; Rupee moves towards 56/$

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell more than 300 points intraday due to further decline in rupee and European markets. The Indian rupee was moving towards the 56 level, falling 1.09% or 62 paise to 55.94 against the US dollar.

The BSE benchmark lost 292.45 points or 1.7% to 16,866 and the NSE benchmark tanked 92.30 points or 1.77% to 5,112.8.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank tanked 2% each while their rival HDFC Bank was down 1.5%.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors plunged 3% each.

Cigarette major ITC and software services exporter Infosys were down 1.5% each.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki and steel maker Sterlite Industries crashed more than 5%. Hindalco, GAIL, Tata Steel and BHEL were down 4%

However, drug producers Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla gained 1% and 0.4%, respectively.

More than three shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

European markets extended fall after two Spanish regions (Valencia and Catalonia) said they would need financial assistance, raising doubts over Spain's ability to avoid sovereign bailout.

FTSE MIB (Italy), Athex Composite (Greece) and IBEX (Spain) crashed 4-4.5%.

Commodities too took huge beating. Brent crude fell by 3.28% to USD 103 a barrel and NYMEX crude lost by 3.35% to USD 88.75 a barrel.

Indian equity benchmarks remained sharply lower due to fall in global markets. Banks, auto, metals, telecom, capital goods and FMCG stocks were under pressure.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro tanked 3% after EBITDA margin was quite lower than expectations. Net profit and revenues grew better than expected by 15.81% and 26%, respectively in the quarter ended June 2012. However, EBITDA margin fell higher than expected by 280 basis points to 9.1% YoY.

The BSE benchmark was down 242 points to 16,916 and the NSE benchmark dropped 78 points to 5,127.

Sanjay Dutt, Director at Quantum Securities feels the market is a consolidation mode, awaiting important government decisions over the next 10 days. He sees 8-10% correction if no there is no movement on that front before the next Parliament session.

All sectoral indices were in favour of declines. The BSE Metal and Capital Goods indices fell over 2.5%. Power, Realty, Capital Goods, Auto and Bankex were down 1.6-2%.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank lost 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

Cigarette major ITC and software services exporter Infosys were down 1-1.5%.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors tumbled 2.2%-2.75%. Top car maker Maruti plunged nearly 6% on stoppage of work at its Manesar plant.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL crashed 4% after L&T's results.

Shares of Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Hindalco, GAIL and Jindal Steel tanked 3-4%.

European shares fell and the euro hovered near multi-year lows on Monday after two Spanish regions said they would need aid, reigniting fears the country will become the fourth euro zone member to need a full international bailout. (With inputs from Reuters)

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 1.5-2%. The Dow Jones futures fell 85 points.

The BSE Sensex fell more than 200 points in afternoon trade following weak opening of European markets. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 1% each while Spain and Italy tanked nearly 2% as the market doubts over Spain's ability to avoid a sovereign bailout after two indebted regions (Valencia and Catalonia) sought financial assistance from the central government.

The BSE benchmark tumbled 210.84 points or 1.23% to 16947.60 and the NSE benchmark was down 67.40 points or 1.29% to 5,137.70.

Top private sector lender ICICI Bank lost 1.6% while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were down more than 1%.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and telecom operator Bharti Airtel plunged more than 2%.

Software services exporter Infosys and cigarette major ITC were down 1% each. Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro slipped 1.6% ahead of June quarter numbers as analysts on an average expect standalone profit after tax to grow by 11% year-on-year to Rs 827 crore in the quarter ended June 2012.

Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki crashed 6% due to work stoppage at Manesar plant after Wednesday's violence.

Metals stocks like Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco tanked over 3%. State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL too was down 3%.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty extended fall due to further fall in rupee and index heavyweights. The Indian rupee fell by 50 paise to 55.82 against the US dollar.

The 30-share BSE benchmark lost 173.40 points or 1.01% to 16,985.04 and the 50-share NSE benchmark went down 55.05 points or 1.06% to 5,150.05, but the broader markets were down just 0.4%-0.7%.

Cigarette major ITC and software services exporter Infosys were down 1% each.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank too fell 1% each. State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel tanked 2% each.

Car maker Maruti Suzuki extended fall, losing nearly 6% as company stopped operation at its Manesar plant since violence on Wednesday. Commercial vehical manufacturer Tata Motors was down 1.6%.

Metals stocks like Sterlite Industries, Jindal Steel, Hindalco Industries and Tata Steel were down 2-3.5%. State-owned power equipment maker BHEL tumbled 2%.

However, shares of Dr Reddy's Labs and Tata Power moved up 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.

Most active shares on exchanges were Claris Life, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Indraprastha Gas, Shoppers Stop, ICICI Bank, Pantaloon Retail and United Spirits.

More than two shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

Asian shares slid and the euro hovered near multi-year lows hit in early trade on Monday, as Spain sparked concerns about its ability to stave off a sovereign bailout after two indebted regions sought financial assistance from the central government. (With inputs from Reuters)

Shanghai and Straits Times were down around 1% while Hang Seng tanked 2.5%. Nikkei, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted lost 1.5%-2%.