Sensex skids

Foreign institutional investors,who are the principal market drivers,bought mid-cap and small-cap shares heavily. Investor sentiment in these segments was bolstered by reports that Life Insurance Corporation plans to invest Rs 50,000 crore in the stock market this fiscal. DLF was down 7.77 per cent while Indias largest private sector lender ICICI Bank shed

6.56 per cent followed by Bharti Airtel 6.06 per cent and BHEL 5.75 per cent. The broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also tumbled 48.15 points or 1.11 per cent to close at 4,270.30. Bonanza Portfolio assistant vice-president Avinash Gupta said: This was a day of huge volumes amid high volatility. The volumes in the cash market were more than Rs 40,000 crore at the NSE,which is a record.