Budget fails to cheer market

Hike in MAT, and continuity of STT have desappointed the market.

Moreover, government's move to continue holding majority stake in PSU banks has not gone too well with the banking stocks. As a result of which the Bankex has tumbled over 7% to 7,835.

The Sensex, meanwhile, touched a low of 14,078. The index is now near its low at 14,085, down 828 points (5.5%).
Reliance Infrastructure has crashed 12% to Rs 1,134. Tata Steel and HDFC have plunged 9.5% each to Rs 397 and rs 2,346, respectively.

SBI, Tata Power, ICICI Bank, Jaiprakash Associates, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Communications, DLF, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors have slumped 6-8% each.

The other major losers are Hindalco, ONGC, Reliance, Sterlite, BHEL, Grasim, NTPC and ACC.

However, ITC has managed to hold on to its gains and is now at Rs 198, up 3%.

The market breadth is extremely negative. Out of 2,554 stocks traded, 1,867 have declined while 612 have advanced.