Sensex drops by 129 pts on profit-booking, earning concerns

The 30-share BSE barometer, which had surged by 226 points to match with mid-March levels yesterday, dropped by 129.21 points, or 0.73 per cent, to close at 17,489.14.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 39.05 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 5,306.30 as investors encashed from yesterday's gains.

Brokers said reports of less than average monsoon rains this season might hamper efforts to boost economy and hurt company earnings this quarter impacted the market sentiment.

The India Meteorological Department today said that monsoon, the life-line of Indian agriculture, has covered the entire country but rains are still deficient by 23 per cent.

Lower opening in European stock markets after overnight fall on Wall Street, as investors fretted over mounting global economic gloom, aggravated the market woes.

Market major Reliance Industries dropped 1.87 per cent to Rs 725.70.

The auto sector suffered heavy losses of 1.18 per cent on fears that less rains might reduce demand for vehicles in rural areas. Tata Motors dropped 2.03 per cent to Rs 241.40, Maruti Suzuki by 1.49 per cent to Rs 1,203.05 and Hero MotoCorp by 1.18 per cent to Rs 2,040.50.

Among the 30 index components, 26 stocks declined while four ended with gains.

Major losers were Wipro, ITC, Hind Unilever, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Auto.