Sensex falls 83 points on weak global cues

The stock markets lost ground for the third day in a row, as investors forced the bellwether Sensex down by 83.73 points taking cues from weak Asian and European markets.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share index closed lower by 83.73 points at 15,467.46 points.

The broader 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange declined by 17 points or 0.37 per cent to 4,608.35.

Brokers said weak global cues triggered selling on the domestic stock markets. Realty, auto, capital goods and power counters attracted profit-booking while some of the IT shares were in keen demand.

Most of the Asian indices ended with losses between 0.61 per cent and 2.37 per cent while European indices were also trading lower in their afternoon trade following sharp fall on the Wall Street Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index ended lower by nearly 2 per cent Tuesday on fresh concerns about more bank failures. The US stocks index futures also pointing towards negative opening Wednesday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the second day and sold shares worth Rs 635.94 crore on September 1, according to the provisional data.

However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) picked up shares to the tune of Rs 366.89 crore, supporting the market to some extent.

Among the Sensex pack, Sterlite dipped by 3.16 per cent, BHEL by 2.65 per cent, Jaipra Asso by 2.57 per cent, Maruti Suzuki by 2.27 per cent, Bharti Airtel by 2.13 per cent, M&M by 2.09 per cent and Grasim by 1.44 per cent.

However, RCom rose by 4.56 per cent, Hindustan Unilever by 2.01 per cent, Hero Honda by 1.40 per cent, TCS by 1.19 pct and Infosys Tech by 1.05 per cent.

The BSE-Realty index dipped by 75.38 points or 1.76 per cent, the BSE-Auto index by 81.86 points or 1.36 per cent, the BSE-CG by 163.55 points or 1.26 per cent and the BSE-Power by 31.63 points or 1.08 per cent.

Indicating total market breadth, 1,601 counters recorded losses while 1,163 ended with gains on BSE.

The total turnover dropped sharply to Rs 5,440.54 crore from Rs 7,547.38 crore on Monday. Reliance Capital was the most active share with the highest turnover of Rs 233.60 crore.