Sensex crashes 84 pts

Brokers said the fresh fall was due to unloading by foreign funds and local operators as it was the last session for the current settlement and absence of speculative support. Despite the downtrend, scrips like Software Solutions, Tata Telecom, Hind Lever Chemical, Gulf Oil and Mastek hit the circuit bands and gained sharply.

Satyam Computer, MTNL, Castrol, too gained marginally. Pivotals likes Telco, Zee Tele, Voltas, Pentafour, Crompton Greaves, Digital, SBI, Hero Honda, Tata Tea, Glaxo, NIIT and Bombay Dyeing suffered badly on selling pressure.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after a firm start, pivotalsdeclined sharply following heavy bull liquidation by operators and institutional investors today. Reflecting the weak spell, the S&P CNX Nifty index opened at 961.70 points, touched the day’s high of 967.85 points, low of 932.25 points before closing at 934.30 points, showing a net loss of 20.45 points as against the previous close of 954.75 points.

According to a NSE release, 294 scrips were advanced, 672 declined and 91 remained unchanged on the NSE while 48 securities hit their price bands today. Total turnover on the NSE stood at Rs 2601.53 crore from trading of 804.84 lakh shares in 2,61,366 trades. Debentures traded value was Rs 48.51 crore.