Earthquake hits market, Sensex dips 153 points

Equity markets today survived a tsunami scare, as the benchmark indices managed to regain some of their lost ground. The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange rose over 100 points from its intraday low. At the close, the index was down 153 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 18,174. The broader index S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange declined 44.55 points, or 0.81 per cent, at 5,449.

Tremors of the Japan earthquake were felt by bourses across Europe and Asia. Japan’s benchmark stock index, Nikkei 225 fell 1.7 per cent to 10,254.43. Among the other Asian markets — Hang Seng, Kospi and Straits Times declined 1-1.5 per cent. Shanghai and Taiwan fell over 0.7 per cent. In Europe, FTSE index was down 0.8 per cent. CAC index was down 1.1 per cent and DAX index 1.1 per cent.