Domestic stocks on Monday closed at their lowest level in over 19 months on Monday on the back of continued worries about Chinese equities. The rupee also ended lower by 18 paise at 66.81 against the US dollar on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers in view of foreign capital outflows. The BSE Sensex again slipped by 109 points to settle at 24,825.04 on caution ahead of the release of macroeconomic data and TCS’ earnings numbers while another sell-off in China hit the market mood. The benchmark index fell for the fifth time in six days to extend the last week’s steepest loss in more than four years. “Indices opened in deep red, tracking global markets, but recovered in the second part of session on the back of recovery in Europe,” said Gaurav Jain, director, Hem Securities. [related-post] Vinod Nair, head-fundamental research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial, said: “The market is likely to be volatile in the near term with investors cautiously waiting for the IIP data (November) and the CPI (December) inflation numbers for getting the market direction. Since the expectation from the upcoming third quarter earnings is muted, it may not be an eventful factor to the market.” Moreover, IT major TCS has also lined up to release numbers for the third quarter on Tuesday. The BSE benchmark Sensex resumed lower at 24,787.11 and dropped further to a low of 24,598.90 before ending at 19th-month low of 24,825.04, showing a loss of 109.29 points or 0.44 per cent. It had risen by 82.50 points on Friday.
