Sensex sheds 155 points, banking scrips dip ahead of RBI policy

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets fell for a fourth consecutive session Monday, closing 155 points down as banking scrips tanked ahead of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy review.

Some positive buying was seen in IT and auto sectors, while fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and banking stocks slid substantially, followed by metal, public sector undertakings (PSU) and oil and gas scrips.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,714.42 points, closed at 19,593.28 points, down 154.91 points or 0.78 percent from the previous day's close at 19,748.19 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 19,751.03 points and a low of 19,570.87 points intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended 0.93 percent or 54.55 points down at 5,831.65 points.

The S&P BSE IT index increased by 55.48 points and auto index moved up by 38.84 points. However, FMCG plunged by 194.25 points, bankex tanked by 143.65 points, metal index dipped by 125.90 points, PSU dropped by 102.43 points and oil and gas slipped by 103.19 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Wipro, up 6.71 percent at Rs.408.50; Jindal Steel, up 4.89 percent at Rs.199.35; Tata Motors, up 2.14 percent at Rs.296.05; and Sun Pharma, up 1.91 percent at Rs.569.50.

The main losers were: Hindalco Industries, down 4.03 percent at Rs.90.60; Hindustan Unilever, down 3.71 percent at Rs.638.70; Sterlite Industries, down 3.66 percent at Rs.73.80; and Dr.Reddy's Laboratories, down 3.53 percent at Rs.2,217.65.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei fell by 3.32 percent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down by 0.54 percent; South Korean KOSPI dropped by 0.57 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index was down by 1.72 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.27 percent up; Germany's DAX Index was up by 0.24 percent and the French CAC 40 Index was up by 0.30 percent.