Borrowing concern, Korean belligerance nuke markets

Stock market indices fell the most in a month on concerns the new government will have to borrow more to boost the economy. Also, the announcement by North Korea about its success in staging a nuclear test on Monday upset stock markets across Asia.

Indian markets were no exception as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex fell 324 points, or 2.33 per cent, to close at 13,589. European markets too were weak.

The broader S&P CNX Nifty cracked the most in Asia as it had witnessed a sharp run-up recently. The index was down 121 points, or 2.85 per cent, at 4,116.70.

Among other Asian indices, the Sanghai Composite was down 0.82 per cent. The Hang Seng fell 0.76 per cent. The Taiwan Weighted declined 0.76 per cent and the Nikkei fell 0.39 per cent. The South Korean index Seoul Composite fell 2.06 per cent.

“Investors were fatigued by the recent rally and the current volatility is due to profit booking ahead of the derivatives expiry. The Nifty may not slip below the 4,000 level easily,” said Divyesh Shah, chief executive officer, Indiabulls Securities.

Overall, 1,454 shares, or 51.74 per cent, declined against the advances of 1,323 shares, or 47 per cent, on BSE 33 shares remained unchanged.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the top investors in markets with an investment of over $5.5 billion since mid-March, have been selling some bluechip stocks as the valuations were running ahead of earnings in short term. Provisional figures suggest that FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 197 crore today in the cash segment. Domestic institutions too were net sellers to the tune of Rs 138 crore.

Profit-takers today targeted energy major Reliance Industries (RIL), which had nearly doubled over the past couple of months. The stock fell 2.25 per cent at Rs 2,144. Another stock on the sellers’ radar was ICICI Bank, down 5.25 per cent at Rs 6,66.60. Among others which fell sharply included Reliance Communications, down 9.56 per cent at Rs 291.45. Bharti Airtel was down 5.05 per cent at Rs 770. DLF slipped 4.30 per cent and Tata Motors was down 5.91 per cent at Rs 325.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 1.38 per cent after data showed today that first-quarter real GDP shrank 3.8 per cent from the fourth quarter. It was the sharpest decline since records were started being maintained in 1970. Key benchmark indices in France and the UK were down around 0.89-1.4 per cent.

Key benchmark indices in France and the UK were down around 0.89-1.4 per cent.