Sensex crashes by 587 points amid heavy selling pressure, DLF plunges by 16 pc

Bearish trends gripped the stock market on Thursday as investors awaited clarification on tax proposals for foreign portfolio investors made in the Budget and remained unsure on the stimulus package despite assurances by the government.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 587 points or 1.6 per cent lower at 36,473 while the Nifty 50 was down by 181 points or 1.7 per cent to 10,738.

Except for IT, all sectoral indices were in the red at the National Stock Exchange. Nifty realty slipped by 6.2 per cent, PSU banks by 3.6 per cent, metal by 3.5 per cent and auto by 1.8 per cent.

Among stocks, realty major DLF plummeted 15.9 per cent to Rs 144.30 per share. Oberoi Realty slipped by 5.6 per cent to wind up at Rs 483.80 apiece.

Shares of Reliance Capital plunged over 19 per cent to hit a multi-year low of Rs 33.30 per share with reports saying that it is exiting the mutual funds business. With the closure of open offer, Nippon Life Insurance's stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) has risen to 54 per cent.

Yes Bank fell over 12 per cent intra-day at Rs 57.45 per share with worries over the valuation of its stake in Gautam Thapar's CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd, which has been hit by allegations of financial irregularities. The lender has 12.79 per cent stake in the company.

CG Power plummeted by another 9.75 per cent to Rs 10.65 per share. LIC Housing Finance was down by nearly 11 per cent, Vedanta by 7.8 per cent, Indiabulls Housing Finance by 5.7 per cent, Bajaj Finserv by 5.5 per cent and Bajaj Finance by 4.9 per cent.

However, the gainers included Britannia, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's, Hindustan Lever and Tata Consultancy Services.

Meanwhile, Asian shares were flat as uncertainty continued over the outlook for US interest rates and the global fiscal stimulus.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5 per cent in light volumes while Japan's Nikkei ended a few nothes higher.

Shanghai blue chips climbed 0.3 per cent but Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was among the biggest losers, down more than 1 per cent as unrest in the Chinese-ruled territory continued to disrupt business and investment environment.