Sensex ends below 17,000 on weak global cues

Indian equities had a disappointed day today. The Sensex tumbled over 300 points at close due to global woes. All sectoral indices traded in deep red. Metal, realty were badly hit followed by PSU, oil& gas, capital goods and auto stocks also led the downfall. It opened on a bleak note and soon fell sharply on the back of weak Asian peers. Aggressive selling was seen across board. The index plunged over 400 points in mid noon trades, touching a day`s low of 16,686.73. Finally, it ended below 17,000 mark, whereas Nifty managed to hold 5,000 mark.
On global front, European stocks dropped as concern lingered that the region`s spreading debt crisis will hold back the global economic recovery. US futures fell. Asian stocks tumbled, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific Index by the most in 14 months after a US jobs report missed economist estimates and concern grew that Europe`s sovereign-debt crisis is spreading.

At 15.55 pm, the Sensex was trading down 336.62 points or 1.97% at 16,781.07. Meanwhile, the Nifty was trading lower by 101.50 points or 1.98% at 5,034.
The 30-share benchmark index, BSE Sensex opened with a decline of 47.92 points or 0.28% at 17,069.77, while the broad based NSE Nifty started with a fall of 22.90 points or 0.45%, at 5,112.60.
Sensex Movers
Reliance Industries contributed fall of 49.73 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Infosys Technologies (35.18 points), ICICI Bank (34.31 points), Housing Development Finance Corporation (22.92 points) and Larsen & Toubro (19.68 points).
However, Reliance Communications contributed rise of 6.11 points in the Sensex. It was followed by ACC (1.14 points), Hero Honda Motors (0.04 points), Hindustan Unilever (0.85 points) and Wipro (0.99 points).
Biggest gainers in the 30-share index were Reliance Communications (4.61%), ACC (1.06%), and Hero Honda Motors (0.02%).
On the other hand, DLF (6.19%), Hindalco Industries (5.07%), Tata Steel (4.59%), Tata Motors (4.25%), Sterlite Industries (India) (4.24%), and Bharti Airtel (3.04%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.
Mid & Small-cap Space
The BSE Mid and small caps outperformed their larger counterparts declining 1.37% and 1.45% respectively.
The major losers in the BSE Midcap were Core Projects and Technologies (4.3%), Aban Offshore (3.6%), A I A Engineering (1.97%), Alstom Projects India (1.67%) and Ackruti City (1.31%).
The major losers in the BSE Smallcap were Aarti Industries (2.81%), A B G Infralogistics (2.36%), Action Construction Equipment (1.69%), Provogue (India) (1.46%) and Abhishek Industries (0.59%).
The BSE Smallcap index was at 8515.36 down by 125.04 points or by 1.45%.
The major losers were Aarti Industries (2.81%), A B G Infralogistics (2.36%), Action Construction Equipment (1.69%), Provogue (India) (1.46%) and Abhishek Industries (0.59%).
Sectors in Limelight
The Metal index was at 14,199.73, down by 590.05 points or by 3.99%. The major losers were Hindalco Industries (5.07%), JSW Steel (4.29%), NMDC (4.19%), Jindal Steel & Power (2.62%) and Hindustan Zinc (2.37%).
The Realty index was at 2,980.38, down by 120.79 points or by 3.89%. The major losers were D L F (6.19%), Indiabulls Real Estate (4.3%), Anant Raj Industries (2.13%), Ackruti City (1.31%) and D B Realty (0.21%).
The Oil & Gas index was at 9,954.96, down by 195.25 points or by 1.92%. The major losers were Aban Offshore (3.6%), Cairn India (2.95%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (2.82%), G A I L (India) (1.52%) and Essar Oil (1.16%).
The Capital Goods index was at 13,554.13, down by 254.37 points or by 1.84%. The major losers were Crompton Greaves (2.47%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (2.37%), A I A Engineering (1.97%), BEML (1.75%) and Bharat Electronics (1.09%).
Market Breadth
Market breadth was negative with 890 advances against 1,931 declines.
Value and Volume Toppers
Reliance Communications topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 1,961.06 million. It was followed by Tata Steel (Rs. 1,182.58 million), State Bank Of India (Rs. 929.17 million) and Sesa Goa (Rs. 857.73 million).
The volume chart was led by Reliance Communications with trades of over 11.15 million shares. It was followed by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (6.43 million), FCS Software Solutions (4.62 million) and Development Credit Bank (4.08 million).