The BSE benchmark Sensex today slipped 232 points in a highly volatile trade,with banking and realty stocks taking a big hit on reports of an alleged housing scam. Marketmen attributed the sharp decline in the stock market to the CBI raids at LIC Housing Finance and Central Bank of India offices in an alleged fake housing loan scam. The Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex finally settled the day at 19,459.85,down 231.99 points or 1.18 per cent. Yesterday,the Sensex had fallen by 265 points on global concerns. Investors,who were already shaky because of negative global cues like the Irish debt crisis,China's interest rate hike and the geo-political crisis in Asia,preferred taking profit a day before this month's the Futures & Options (F&O) expiry. Similarly,the National Stock Exchange broad-based index Nifty too went down by 69 points or 1.16 per cent to close at 5,865.75. "The volatility was mainly on concerns of the futures & options clearance tomorrow,besides the market has to digest many factors be it the Ireland issue or China rate hike or the geo-political crisis in Asia," SMC Capitals equity head Jagannadham Thunuguntla said. He further added that the mood in the overall market was already nervous and the CBI's raid at some of the financial companies further dampened the sentiments. Country's top lenders,ICICI Bank,SBI and HDFC Bank were the biggest laggard and emerged as the biggest letdown for the bellwether Sensex. Edgy investors abandoned the financial stocks after news started pouring in that the CBI has questioned several banks,including LIC Housing Finance,Central Bank of India regarding fake housing loans. Eventually,CBI arrested eight people,including the CEO of LIC Housing Finance for allegedly passing corporate loans for monetary considerations. SBI lost 3.34 per cent and finished last among the blue-chip firms,while ICICI Bank shed 2.73 per cent and HDFC Bank went down by 2.67 per cent. Led by losses in these stocks,the BSE banking index ended at 13,477.92,reflecting a staggering loss of 408.56 points and was the top loser among the 13 sectoral indices. LIC Housing Finance tanked 18.32 per cent. "Investors are taking a cautious approach as the market is flooded with negative cues. The CBI questioning some of the top financial firms in connection with fake housing loan scam added to the woes of the market," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Research Head Alex Mathews said. Realty major DLF also suffered losses and tumbled 3 per cent amid reports of the housing loan scandal. D B Realty declined by 16.23 per cent and HDIL 5.28 per cent. The realty index plummeted by 90.08 points to end at 3,041.62. Capital goods companies' like BHEL and Larsen & Toubro too went down. The former lost 2.74 per cent while the latter dipped by 1.42 per cent. The capital goods index tanked 189.80 points to settle at 15,434.69. Besides,the PSU and metal index too bore the brunt of the weak broader market. Among public sector firms,Bank of India declined by 5.88 per cent and Central Bank 8.02 per cent. Aluminium major Hindalco went down by 1.26 per cent,Jindal Steel fell 1.04 per cent and copper producer Sterlite Industries too shed 0.99 per cent. Among the Sensex firms,25 ended the day with losses while the five of them managed to end with mild gains. Mahindra and Mahindra surged 3.23 per cent,Bharti Airtel 0.76 per cent and Tata Steel 0.54 per cent. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries fell 0.08 per cent. On the global front,Asia was subdued,while Europe was trading flat. China's Shanghai closed up 1.12 per cent,Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.56 per cent,while Japan's Nikkei ended 0.84 per cent lower.
