Sensex ends 654 points down; BSE m-cap below 100 lakh crore

NEW DELHI: Rising tensions in Middle East took a toll on Dalal Street that saw panic sell-off in late trade, with benchmark indices breaking below their support levels in a stock market that has been struggling to hit upon cues for some time now.

Saudi Arabia-led coalition of Arab nations has launched air strikes in Yemen to push back Houthi rebels. This led to a spike in oil prices that jumped 6% to $59.70 a barrel.

The Sensex ended the day at 27,457.58; down 654.25 points. Nifty closed the day at 8,342.15; down 188.65 points down.

HIGHLIGHTS

- BSE market cap falls below Rs 1 lakh crore mark

- Markets will drag for some time; there is a huge currency risk. And there are no near-term triggers, said Deven Choksey, MD, KR Choksey Securities.

- Nifty logs worst fall since January 6

- PNB has slipped over 32% this year

- Bank of Baroda is down over 25% this year

- Companies with heavy foreign institutional holdings led the declines

- HDFC fell 5%, ICICI Bank fell 1.4%, HDFC Bank fell over 2%

- Telecos rose intraday: Bharti Airtel gained 1.2%; Idea gained 1.8% on hopes of winning key 900 Mhz spectrum

- Global meltdown: DAX of Germany, CAC of France and FTSE100 of UK slip up to 2%; Athex Composite of Greece slipped 2.45% intraday

- Expect valuations to get attractive post March: Nirmal

- REI Agro slipped over 6% intraday on reports about RBI queries

@ 3:05

​Sensex at 27,450.81, down 661.02 points. Nifty @ 8,342.4, down 188.4 points.
@ 2:30

BSE market cap was at Rs 1,00,25,358 crore.

The rupee hit day's low of 62.73 versus the US dollar.

Markets @ 1:55

Sensex at 27,687.78, down 424.05 points. Nifty @ 8,414.65, down 116.15 points.

Top losers

HDFC (-4.1%), INFOSYS (-2.8%), COAL INDIA (-2.5%), HDFC BANK (-2.3%), WIPRO (-2.3%),

Top gainers

BHARTI AIRTEL (1.2%), L&T (0.7%), BHEL (0.6%), HERO MOTOCORP (0.4%), GAIL (0.4%).

Markets @ 12:55 p.m.

Sensex at 27,756.20, down 355.63 points. Nifty @ 8,439.25, down 91.55 points.

Top losers

HDFC (-4.4%), INFOSYS (-2.9%), COAL INDIA (-2.2%), SESA STERLITE (-2.2%), HIND UNILEVER (-1.9%),

Top gainers

BHEL (2.4%), BHARTI AIRTEL (0.8%), L&T (0.5%), HERO MOTOCORP (0.4%), GAIL (0.4%).

Markets @ 11:55

Sensex at 27,782.10, down 329.73 points. Nifty @ 8,448.05, down 82.75 points.

Top losers

HDFC (-4.4%), INFOSYS (-2.4%), COAL INDIA (-2.2%), HDFC BANK (-1.9%), SESA STERLITE (-1.9%)

Top gainers

BHEL (2.1%), BHARTI AIRTEL (1.3%), L&T (1.1%), ITC (0.5%), GAIL (0.4%)