Nifty falls 70 pts on retrospective tax issue;Sun pharma tanks

A string of muted corporate earnings and retrospective taxation concerns continued to haunt investors as the NSE Nifty plummeted by 70 points to closed below the key 8,400-mark today.
The overall trading mood dampened further on account of disappointing set of earnings announcement by the IT firm HCL Tech.
There are a few factors hurting the market sentiment at this juncture ranging from worries of Greece defaulting on its external sovereign debt obligations alongwith rate hikes by the Fed, a floor trader commented.
A weakening rupee, concerns over the land bill and the impact of retrospective taxation on foreign investors is also a constant worry for the market, he added.

Despite a smart recovery from the initial jerk, key indices fell back in late afternoon trade following renewed unwinding from retailers and traders across the board, dragging the market into deep red with massive losses.
Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 1,506.86 crore yesterday as per provisional data.

The broader 50-share index fluctuated between a high of 8,469.35 and a low of 8,352.70 before concluding at 8,377.75, a sharp slide of 70.35 points or 0.83 per cent.
Meanwhile, other equities in the Asian region rebounded sharply to end firmly higher drawing support from the overnight global rally in the US and Europe induced by the unexpected stimulus measures from the China over the weekend.

On the sectoral front, healthcare fell the most among its peers, tumbling by 3.47 per cent led by key heavyweights. It was followed by FCMG at 1.19 per cent, auto 1.21 per cent.
While, banking, metal and technology sector remained largely unaffected by the sell-off.
Sun Pharma topped the selling list on Nifty, plunging nearly 9 per cent after the Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo sold its entire stake in the company.
Other biggest losers included HUL, Idea Cellular, HDFC, HCL Tech, Reliance, Maruti, Tata Motors, DR Reddys, Kotak Bank, L&T, Lupin, NTPC, Ambuja Cement, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, HDFC Bank, Cipla, ACC and ONGC.

Infosys, Axis Bank, SBI, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel,Wipro and Hero MotoCorp emerged as the biggest gainers.
A total of 9,822.47 lakh shares changed hands in 82,21,414 trades. The total market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 9,867,708 crore.