Sensex falls for 8th day; Bharti, HDFC among losers

Falling for the eighth day in a row, the BSE benchmark Sensex today lost over 24 points to close at new one year low of 19,460.57 on selling in capital goods and FMCG stocks. The Sensex fell by 24.20 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 19,460.57, its lowest close since December 31, 2012. The index had lost 520 points in last seven sessions. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dipped below 5,900 points by falling 5.65 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 5,897.85, after touching the day's low of 5,979.10. Brokers said continued selling pressure on weak GDP projections and absence of any cues from Asian markets following closure for Lunar New Year holidays influenced the market. They said steady inflow of weak quarter earnings by some companies and decline in auto sales number first time in a decade this January further influenced the trading sentiment. Bucking the trend, state-run company stocks such as MMTC and Hindustan Copper on hopes of stake sales by the government amid a better trend in European markets saved the market from any major fall, they added. In 30-BSE index components, 17 stocks ended with losses led by Bharti Airtel, HDFC Ltd, Jindal Steel, Larsen and Toubro, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC and Tata Consultancy Services. However, state-run MMTC gained 18.96 per cent to Rs 609.55 and Hindustan Copper by 10.48 per cent to Rs 137.05. The capital goods sector suffered the most by losing 0.81 per cent to 10,085.85 followed by Teck index by 0.43 per cent to 3,783.42. IT index lost 0.33 per cent to 6,455.58.