Sensex tumbles 314 pts to 6-week low

The NSE 50-share Nifty fell 95.70 points or 1.9 per cent to below the psychological 5K mark at 4,934.75. All the 13 sectoral indices on BSE declined.

Besides,of the 30 Sensex scrips,27 closed in the red. Reliance Industries Ltd RIL,with heaviest weight on the index,fell 4.51 per cent. Jaiprakash Associates tumbled more than 6 per cent,ICICI Bank by 1.51 per cent and Infosys by 0.91 per cent.

8220;A sharp dip in RIL pulled down the market today. Overall,poor results posted by some leading companies for the second quarter this fiscal on account of high interest rates and gloomy overseas markets have led to over 1,100 point fall in Sensex in six sessions,8221; said Geojit BNP Paribas Research Head Alex Matthews.

FIIs,main market movers,sold shares worth Rs 488.89 crore yesterday as per the provisional data from exchanges. Globally,major stock markets in Asia and Europe were down on continuing investor worries over the euro-zone debt crisis and fears of global economic slowdown.

Markets in France,Germany and UK were down up to 1.48 per cent. Key indices in Japan and South Korea rose,but were down in China,Hong Kong and Singapore by up to 1.04 per cent. Among the sectoral indices,the BSE Oilamp;Gas fell by 3.39 per cent,followed by Power 2.86 pc,Metal 2.48 pc,Realty 2.40 pc,Capital Goods 2.19 pc,PSU 2.13 pc and Auto 1.78 pc. Other major Sensex losers were Maruti 4.44 pc,BHEL 4.37 pc,Sterlite 4.02 pc,Tata Motors 3.87 pc,DLF 3.34 pc,Tata Power 2.81 pc,Coal India 2.48 pc,ITC 2.38 pc,NTPC 2.36 pc,ONGC 2.26 pc,Jindal Steel 2pc,Mamp;M 1.91 pc,Bharti Airtel 1.89 pc,Wipro 1.83 pc,HDFC 1.73 pc and HDFC Bank 1.52 pc.

The total market breadth remained negative as 1,927 stocks closed in the red,while 897 finished in the green.

The total turnover fell to Rs 2,206.98 crore from yesterday8217;s close of Rs 2,513.20 crore.

INDIA-STOCKS/PREOPEN

Sensex seen falling 6th day; techs watched

Sensex today is expected to extend losses to a sixth consecutive session,after the corporate earnings season failed to provide any cheer and as lingering worries about the euro zone debt crisis keep investors jittery.

Software exporters such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services will be watched,as the rupee is expected to remain under pressure after the currency ended off a near 32-month low on Wednesday.

The companies get more than half their revenue from the United States.

Shares in top mobile operator Bharti Airtel will also be in focus after a senior executive said on Wednesday the company saw an increase in the uptake of third-generation 3G services it launched earlier this year.

At 0317 GMT,the MSCI8217;s measure of Asian markets other than Japan was down 0.7 percent,Japan8217;s Nikkei fell 0.3 percent and South Korea8217;s Kospi shed 0.1 percent.

The Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were down 1.3 percent,indicating a weak opening for the domestic market.

The main 30-share stock index fell 0.6 percent on Wednesday to 16,775.87.

STOCKS TO WATCH

Patni Computer Systems after its U.S.-based majority owner iGate said it planned to delist Patni Computer from stock exchanges to obtain full ownership of the company and would offer a minimum price of 356.74 rupees a share for the current shareholders.

GVK Power and Infrastructure after its unit signed a financing agreement with Axis Bank to a fund a power project worth 11.89 billion rupees.

Indowind Energy after the company said its founder group had raised stake in the company to 30.41 percent from 27.96 percent.

ABB after the company said operations at a manufacturing unit were disrupted following a fire that broke out on Nov. 14.

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