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The BSE Sensex fell for the eighth day in row on Thursday,slipping 65 points to 18,469,on investor concerns over RBI8217;s projection of lower-than-expected economic growth this fiscal and a continuation of high interest rate regime to tame inflation.
The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index,Sensex,which lost 1,068 points in the last seven sessions,fell another 65.33 points or 0.35 per cent to close at 18,469.36.
However,gains in the most-heaviest Reliance Industries saved it from a bigger loss.
The gauge remained volatile throughout the session and moved between 18,604.36 and 18,339.53.
Similarly,the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell 28.10 points or 0.50 per cent to 5,537.15 as stocks of auto,IT,metal and healthcare suffered heavy losses amid a weak Asian trend and lower openings in Europe.
The Reserve Bank of India RBI,at its annual 2011-2012 monetary policy review on Wednesday,raised lending repo and borrowing reverse repo rates by aggressive 50 basis points to rein in inflation,confirming investors worst fears.
Besides,it projected GDP to grow at just 8 per cent in 2011-12,as against the government8217;s estimates of 9 per cent.
In addition to that,persistent selling by FIIs over the past few days continued to affected the market sentiment. As per provisional data,FIIs sold shares worth Rs 1,178.66 crore,while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 606.83 crore on Wednesday.
8220;The market sentiment has taken a beating following a hawkish RBI rate hike. Interest rate sensitive stocks are likely to underperform in the coming days,8221; said Shanu Goel,Senior Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.
Meanwhile,IIFL Head of Research India Private Clients Amar Ambani said,8221;The Indian market has been under-performing the world stocks lately amid concern about inflation and interest rates.
8220;Though the worst fears on RBI hike have come true,there is still no clarity on the impact on the economy and markets. This will take time to play itself out. So,the prudent thing to do right now is to wait for the turmoil to settle down and then take a call on markets.8221;
Asian stocks ended lower despite fall in crude oil prices,on fresh concerns about the European debt issues.
The key benchmark indices in South Korea,China,Hong Kong and Singapore fell by between 0.91 per cent and 2.23 per cent but Taiwan8217;s weighted index moved up by 0.01 per cent.
European markets were trading narrowly mixed in their early trade. CAC and DAX indices inched up by 0.12 per cent and 0.21 per cent while FTSE eased by 0.50 per cent.
In all,19 out of 30 index-based scrips closed with losses,while others finished with gains.
From the Sensex family,Bajaj Auto was the top loser with a fall of 4.82 per cent followed by Hero Honda 3.63 pc,HDFC 2.89 pc,REL Com 2.63 pc,Tata Power 2.24 pc,Jindal Steel 2.17 pc,Tata Steel 2.11 pc,REL Infra 1.82 pc,Infosys Tech 1.49 pc,Bharti Airtel 1.48 pc,Maruti
Suzuki 1.48 pc and ICICI Bank 0.92 pc.
The BSE-Auto dipped by 1.33 per cent and was the top loser among the sectoral indices. BSE-Teck declined 1.13 per cent,IT by 1.08 per cent and Metals by 1.05 per cent.
The total BSE market breadth remained negative as 1,697 stocks ended in the red,while 1,105 that settled in the green on the BSE.
