Sensex sheds 250pts on global cues

Global cues took a hevay toll on our domestic markets which made the Sensex move 350 points through out the day.

The benchmark index started on a positive note at 17,371 owing to strong US cues. The high spirited momentum was shortlived and around the noon session the Sensex slipped in to the red.

The sentiment was further dampened by the weakness in the metal and the realty stocks and the railway strike called by the motormen which brought the financial capital to a standstill.

Asian markets fell on Greece's bailout worries and China's policy tightening. The key benchmark indices in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South Korea were down by between 0.14% to 1.33%. Markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.23% as a survey showed Chinese manufacturing slipped to a six-month low in April 2010, two days after policy makers reined in lending.

The index  slipped to a low of 17,102 and finally ended at 17,137 - down 250 points. Nifty ended  down 74 points at 5,148.

Among the Sensex-30 stocks, Hindalco shed 6% to Rs 163. Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries , Grasim Industries and Jaiprakash Industries were down 3-5% each.

The other major losers were ACC, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro and DLF, down 2-3% each.

HDFC and Hero Honda are the only gainers on the Sensex, up 0.5% each.

The market breadth was extremely negative, out of 2,965 shares traded, 2,094 declined and 781 advanced on the BSE.

The midcap and the smallcap indices also shed around 2% each on the Sensex.

All the sectoral indices ended in red, down 4% to 16,640. It was followed by realty, capital goods and bankex indices.

VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS

RNRL topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 185.86 crore. It was followed by Tata Steel (Rs 170.35 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 165.99 crore), Sesa Goa (Rs 118.07 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 96.73 crore).

RNRL led the volume chart with trades of 26.05 million shares. It was followed by FCS Software (13.21 million), Birla Power (8.40 million), Well Pack Papers (4.85 million) and Suzlon Energy (4.64 million).