Sensex down 74 points, CG Power plummets 20 pc after probe unearths irregularities

Equity benchmark indices swung wildly between gains and losses on Tuesday but closed with a negative bias due to heavy selling pressure.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 74 points lower at 37,328 while the Nifty 50 was down by 37 points to 11,017.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), most sectoral indices were in the red except for auto, IT and pharma. Nifty PSU banks slipped the most and closed 2.3 per cent lower.

Among stocks, CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd plummeted 19.84 per cent after its Risk and Audit Committee raised red flags on five counts which were prejudicial to the company.

The committee found under-stated liabilities, related party transactions, unauthorised guarantees, understated net worth and company personnel transactions among other irregularities. At close, the stock was locked with a loss of 19.84 per cent at Rs 14.75 per share.

Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) fell 5.2 per cent after reporting that it defaulted on its debt obligations worth Rs 1,571 crore associated with bonds and commercial papers.

Yes Bank shed 7.3 per cent to close at Rs 71.05 per share while Britannia was down by 3.5 per cent. Vodafone Idea slipped by 2.5 per cent after the company announced that Balesh Sharma stepped down as company's Chief Executive Officer.

The other prominent losers were UltraTech Cement, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Eicher Motors which lost between 2.7 and 3 per cent each.

However, Maruti gained 4 per cent after reporting a healthy consumer response from environment-friendly versions of its products. Tata Motors too gained by 2.5 per cent.

IT majors HCL Technologies and Infosys gained 1.9 per cent each while Dr Reddy's was up by 1.7 per cent. The other gainers included Hindustan Lever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC Bank.

Meanwhile, Asian shares were mixed with investors hoping for more stimulus in major economies to avert a global recession.

The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.23 per cent. But Japan's Nikkei traded 0.5 per cent higher and South Korea's KOSPI also gained over one per cent.