The BSE benchmark Sensex fell for the fourth straight session on Monday, losing over 68 points, to a five-month low on sustained selling by investors who were concerned that high input costs and rising interest rate would dent corporate earnings.
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex, which lost 755 points in the last three sessions fell further by 68.21 points to 18,327.76, a level last seen in early September.
The index dipped to 18,038.48 points intra-day, before recovering in the last 30 minutes of buying in fundamentally strong stocks that were available at attractive low levels.
In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 6.25 points to 5,505.90, after touching the day’s low of 5,416.65 points as stocks of realty, FMCG and tech sectors suffered the most.
While investors showed panic on rising input cost and hike in interest rate, foreign investors pared positions in view of unrest in Egypt.
Stocks have fallen each day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates for the seventh time since last March to combat accelerating inflation.
Foreign funds sold net Rs. 13.97 billion rupees of Indian equities on January 27. Asian stocks fell, dragging down a regional benchmark index by the most in a week, as demonstrations against Egypt’s government continued for a sixth day and earnings reports disappointed investors.
The realty sector index suffered major losses, falling 2.23 per cent to 2,228.78. Jaiprakash Associates dropped 4.69 per cent to Rs. 83.35 on fears that a further rise in interest rate would affect home sales.
The FMCG sector index fell 2 per cent to 3,366.20 as Colgate, a maker of soaps and shampoo, dropped 2.29 per cent to Rs. 823.70, its lowest close since November 26 as its third quarter profit declined.
As selling pressure spread over a wide-front, smallcap index fell by 0.80 per cent to 8,477.82 and midcap index by 0.44 per cent to 6,868.35.
