Business   

Sensex surrenders 10640 points in 2008

— PHOTO: PAUL NORONHA

A LONG WAY TO GO: A stock broker reacts at a brokerage house in Mumbai on Wednesday, the last trading day of the year.

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index (Sensex) drew curtain to a forgettable 2008 during which it had shaved off a mind-boggling 10640 points or a little more than 52 per cent.

On Wednesday, the last day of trading, the index closed lower by 69 points after surrendering its early gains on emergence of selling after rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded some of the Sensex component corporate.

The 30-share Sensex closed the year lower by 68.85 points at 9647.31, which is less than half of 20873.33 it cloaked on close of January 8.

The Sensex’s record high was 21206.77 on January 10 during the intra-day. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, fell by 20.35 points at 2959.15. It touched the day’s high 3002.65 and a low of 2937.35.

Market leader Reliance Industries dropped 1.50 per cent at Rs. 1,230.25 after S&P revised its rating outlook on the country’s to negative from stable on the back of the company’s increased debt and pressure on profitability.

Among other Sensex stocks ICICI Bank fell 2.12 per cent, Infosys Technologies 0.64 per cent, HDFC by 2.75 per cent, Sterlite Industries by 1.62 per cent, TCS by 0.87 per cent and Wipro by 0.81 per cent. All these stocks together carry nearly 42 per cent weightage on the Sensex.

The banking index lost 1.29 per cent at 5454.54 as heavy-weights ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Yes Bank, Kotak Bank, Oriental Bank and Canara Bank fell sharply.

The oil and gas index was second worst performer losing 0.98 per cent at 6050.04 after the segment majors Reliance Industries, Reliance Petro, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum and Essar Oil fell sharply. The realty sector index fell by 0.41 per cent at 2274.13, Tech index by 0.28 per cent at 1947.04, FMCG index by 0.12 per cent at 1987.38 and PSU index by 0.05 per cent at 5279.61.

The falling trend was cushioned by a rise in sectors such as consumer durables, auto, healthcare, capital goods, power, metal and information technologies.

Brokers said institutional investors were seen picking up selective stocks in a bid to shore up the net asset value of their units at the year-end.

Despite encouraging global cues, domestic investors seem unwilling to take risk and booked profits at current levels ahead of the third quarter corporate earnings scheduled to be announced in the second week of January.

The rupee fell 19.1 percent against the dollar in 2008, its biggest yearly fall since the early 1990s, as foreign fund withdrawals from the stock market and a widening trade deficit weighed.

On Wednesday, it closed at 48.70 against 48.48 on Tuesday. The rupee moved in a range of 48.30 and 48.80 during intra-day. In 2007, the rupee had gained more than 12 per cent to 39.41— PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

What is in store for IT sector?
To bet on new technology
Sensex surrenders 10640 points in 2008
TCS completes CGSL buyout
Is Satyam averse to pursuing share buyback?
Motorola launches entry level phone
ICICI Bank cuts home, auto loan rates
Croma plans to set up 32 stores by March
Taj sees 62% occupancy
Current account deficit balloons to $12.5 b
External debt dips to $223 b
Maruti Suzuki announces fuel economy details
Nokia’s recycling campaign
Exchange Rates
Bullion Rates

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu