Sensex crashes, dips below 15K level

Sensex suffered another major crash losing over 500 points to trade below 15,000 level. This was the second crash in a short span after Friday's 541 points loss.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex suffered another major crash at noon on Wednesday as it lost 569 points to trade below 15,000 level, on frantic selling by funds triggered by a weakening global trend.

Wednesday’s crash was the second one in a short span after Friday’s 541 points loss, following a steep fall in global stock markets led by fears of a credit crunch in the US, the world’s biggest economy.

The Sensex was down by 569.71 points at 14,981.28 at 1200 hours, while the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 172.20 points at 4,356.65.

All 30 stocks in the BSE index declined. The National Stock Exchange Nifty futures for August delivery slid 3.6 per cent to 4,346.25 points.

Marketmen said the current plunge in the indices was attributed to concern the US’s sub prime loan industry might prompt investors to withdraw from riskier assets.

They said a weakening US stock markets on a fall in housing sale and a credit crunch might impact markets across the globe.

Stocks also fell after crude oil topped 78 dollar a barrel yesterday in New York, they said.

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The US Standard and Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.3 per cent after American Home Mortgage Investment said it has been cut off from credit and didn’t have money to make 300 million dollar of mortgages it had already agreed to provide, marketmen said.