Nifty ends below 3000; RIL, Satyam, R-Com, Bharti, L&T drag

17 December 2008

Sell-off in metal, telecom, power, capital goods stocks as well as in Reliance Industries and sharp cut in Satyam Computer has pushed the benchmark indices sharply lower. Downtrend in European markets and US futures also added some fuel to the negative sentiment.

The markets had started the day with gap up but immediately indices turned extermely volatile. In the second half of session, both the benchmark indices slipped into red following weak European markets and US futures. The Nifty went below 2950 in late trade.

The Sensex has touched an intraday low of 9,682.91, before closing the day at 9,715.29, down 261.69 points or 2.62% from previous close. In the beginning, it tested 10,000 mark.

The 50-share Nifty slipped 2.87% or 87.40 points, to settle at 2954.35, after touching an intraday low of 2943.50. It was hovering around 3000 mark for major part of the day, but profit booking pushed below the same level.

Midcap and small cap indices broke five days winning streak and closed weak. BSE Midcap Index slipped 108.04 points or 3.33% at 3,136.17 and Small Cap Index was down 98.09 points or 2.6% at 3,678.56.

Draggers in today's trade were Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Satyam, BHEL, SBI, L&T and Reliance Infrastructure. However, ICICI Bank, Infosys, ONGC, HUL, HDFC Bank, Grasim and Wipro were on buyers' radar throughout the session.