The Hindu : Business : Market turns bearish, Sensex drops 172 points

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Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008
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Market turns bearish, Sensex drops 172 points

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share bellwether Sensex on Monday fell by 172 points to settle below the 10000-mark as bourses turned bearish after European markets exhibited weakness in early trade.

The markets witnessed volatile trade due to the approaching expiry of derivatives contracts on Wednesday in view of a trading holiday on Christmas.

Snapping a two-day winning streak, the BSE barometer Sensex settled the day at 9928.35, netting a fall of 171.56 points over the previous close.

The broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also fell by 38.20 points to 3039.30 from its last close.

Brokers said investors took a cautious approach due to year-end considerations and squared up their long positions ahead of the expiry of derivatives contracts.

They said strong expectations that the Government may announce another stimulus package along with a fresh rate cut by the Reserve Bank triggered a rally in early trade.

The market toed the line of its Asian and European counterparts, which were under pressure because of weak Japanese exports data and a discouraging corporate outlook.

Except a 1.57 per cent rise in the Nikkei, other Asian indices ended down by about 0.12 per cent to 3.39 per cent.

Rupee falls 76 paise

Heavy dollar demand from banks and weakness in equity markets weighed on the rupee as it fell by another 76 paise to close at 48.02/03 a dollar on Monday. It closed at 47.27 last Friday. The rupee resumed higher at 47.39/40 a dollar and touched a high of 47.30 in early trade. — PTI

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