No relief for markets; Nifty tanks 50 pts, slips below 5,700

Shares sank deeper as nervous investors resorted to heavy selling, leading the market to post losses for the eighth straight session, as the benchmark CNX Nifty broke another resistance level and settled below the 5,700 mark on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today.
The key index once again surrendered early gains and ended down 50 points. The 50-share Nifty hovered between a high of 5,761.85 and a low of 5,649 before finishing at 5,677.90, a sharp loss of 49.95 points, or 0.87 per cent.
Deteriorating growth fundamentals, disturbing macro-economic indicators and sliding rupee rattled the market.
RBI Governor D Subbarao's statement, that liquidity tightening measures will be rolled back only after stability is restored in the forex market, further dampened the mood.

Despite RBI's moves to support rupee, the Indian unit again dropped below the 61 mark against the dollar.
Trading began on a strong note, buoyed by Government's move to relax foreign direct investment norms in the retail sector and also due to strong global cues. The market soon lost momentum and slipped deep into red. The day saw heavy unwinding from domestic funds and investors, though low-level buying in select heavyweights helped in pruning losses.

The crisis at NSEL and Sebi's decision to seek details from brokers about their direct and indirect exposure to the entity to avoid spillover to capital market and other segments also created nervousness, traders said.

Other Asian stocks rallied for the second day, lifted by Wall Street's overnight record close on the back of upbeat US economic data and improving conditions in the eurozone.
Power Grid stock featured prominently on the losers' list, crashing by over 11 per cent after the PSU's board yesterday approved 15 per cent stake sale. Other major laggards included JP Associates, Jindal Steel, DLF, Bank of Baroda, Coal India, Reliance Infra, PNB, BPCL and Tata Power.
Technology stocks outperformed due to rupee weakness. Key smart movers included Ranbaxy, Cairn, ACC, Ambuja Cement, Lupin, TCS, Axis Bank, Infosys, Reliance and Tata Motors.

Meanwhile, shares of Financial Technologies and MCX tanked further by 23 and 20 per cent, respectively.
Turnover in the cash segment dropped to Rs 11,535.16 crore from Rs 12,992.01 crore yesterday. A total of 7,267.56 lakh shares changed hands in 71,59,121 trades. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 59,77,662 crore.