Sensex tumbles by 111 points, closes below 4,000

Mirroring the weak trend, Sensex closed at 3945 as against the previous close of 4056, showing a loss of 111 points. The broad-based BSE-100 index moved down by 55.78 points to 1974.50 points from the previous close of 2030.28 points.

The scene at the Hind Lever counter was serious than expected as the scrip fell by about 7 per cent, followed by Gujarat Ambuja 7 per cent and the Reliance Petro which lost more than 4 per cent from its previous close, dealers said.

Market sources said the Sensex has fallen by over 215 points in the past four sessions amidst low volumes with the net outstandings showing only a marginal decline. This indicates that operators did not get an opportunity to wind up positions as per their requirements, they added.

Key scrips like HLL, L&T, M&M, NIIT, ACC, GACL, Aptech and Tata Tea touched the 52-week lows during trading. In the specified group, 121 counters including 26 index-based shares registered sharp to moderate losses while 19 others showed modest gains.

Infosys Tech dropped by 109.85 to 7288.70. Global Tele was down by 2.25 at 1069.75, Satyam Compu by 20.60 at 468.70, Himachal Futur by 41.25 at 1212.70, Zee Tele by 12.30 at 417.70, GACL by 10.35 at 141.75, HLL by 14.25 at 190.75, ITC by 10.10 at 718, NIIT by 70.95 at 1304.65, REL Petrol by 2.60 at 54.50, RIL by 5.70 at 335.20 and TISCO by 3.80 at 92.35.

Rupee falls by 10 paise

MUMBAI:The Indian rupee fell sharply by ten paise against the US greenback at 46.1825/1875 on heavy import dollar demand and short supply as the policy measures of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced in its mid-term monetary policy failed to boost the market sentiment at the interbank foreign exchange (forex) today.

The rupee opened steady at 46.08/08, which was also the day’s high, and the currency continued to moved sothwards on heavy import dollar demand and short supply. The Indian unit which ruled around 46.13/14 before the announcement of mid-term policy, again drifted lower to close at 46.1825/1875, losing ten paise from 46.0825/0875 of the previous day.

According to dealers, the mid-term policy announced by RBI have nothing to cheer the forex market positively. On the other hand, restoration of the export earner’s foreign currency (EEFC) account will curtail the dollar supply to some extent, as they are allowed to keep balance in their account, they argued.

The pressure on the rupee was due to heavy covering by importers and reduced supply in view of the New York holiday on mid-day, they said. The sharp reversal in capital flows from foreign institutional investors during the second quarter of the current financial year and the huge oil bills were also disappointing factors, dealers said.