At 13:24 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 220.72 points or 1.27% at 17,214.22. Sensex lost 245.49 points at day’s low of 17,189.45 touched in afternoon trade.
The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 65.25 points or 1.27% at 5,092.45.
The market breadth was positive on BSE with 1,322 shares advancing as compared to 1,263 that declined. 84 remained unchanged.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 24 declined while the rest gained.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 1.39% to Rs 2,599.20. It has reportedly formed a $1 billion joint venture with New York-based Vornado Realty Trust to set up a real estate fund.
Power stocks were mixed. Tata Power Company (up 2.14% to Rs 1,482.10) and Reliance Power (up 2.1% to Rs 426) edged higher. However, PowerGrid Corporation of India (down 0.53% to Rs 102.50), Reliance Infrastructure (down 4.49% to Rs 1,395) and NTPC (down 2.7% to Rs 185.80) edged lower.
Capital goods stocks declined. Bharat Heavy Electricals, India's biggest power equipment maker in terms of revenue, declined 3.02% to Rs 1,741.
However, Suzlon Energy rose 1.23% to Rs 311.60. The company’s net profit rose 10.21% to Rs 482.55 crore on 32.86% rise in total income to Rs 2786.83 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. The company announced the results during trading hours today.
India’s largest engineering and construction firm by sales Larsen & Toubro declined 1.54% to Rs 2,950.30. The company announced today it had received electrical project orders worth Rs 640 crore in the Gulf region.
Banking stocks declined. ICICI Bank (down 2.15% to Rs 920.90) and HDFC Bank (down 2.02% to Rs 1,472) edged lower.
India’s largest commercial bank State Bank of India declined 2% to Rs 1,670. It has reportedly decided to stop giving loans for the purchase of tractors and other farm equipment. Due to mounting non-performing assets in the farm equipment loan segment, the bank has decided to temporarily put on hold all future advances for farm equipment like tractors, power tillers and combined harvesters, the reports suggested.
Realty stocks declined. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 3.24% to Rs 519.85), DLF (down 2.13% to Rs 635.40) and Unitech (down 3.31% to Rs 277.20) edged lower.
India’s largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra declined 1.39% to Rs 653. It is reportedly eyeing Italian motorcycle marque brands — Cagiva and MV Agusta. The Castiglioni family, which owns flagship MV Agusta and Cagiva motorcycle brands, has been facing financial troubles for some time and has been on the look out for a potential acquirer, the reports added.
India’s largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.1% to Rs 819.80. It has reportedly increased prices of cars by up to Rs 18,000 because of higher raw material costs.
ACC (up 0.67% to Rs 686), Infosys (up1.22% to Rs 1,894), Satyam Computer Services (up 0.72% to Rs 491.65), Tata Steel (up 0.68% to Rs 896.95) Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 0.25% to Rs 512) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Jaiprakash Associates (down 4.04% to Rs 259.15), Bharti Airtel (down 3.93% to Rs 817.80), Hindalco Industries (down 3.19% to Rs 197.20), Tat Consultancy Services (down 2.17% to Rs 955) edged lower from Sensex pack.
Deep Industries rose 2.64% to Rs 163, after it won an exploration licence for a coal-bed methane block in Madhya Pradesh.
European markets opened weak. Indices in France, Germany and UK were down by between 0.79% to 1.02%.
Asian markets were trading lower today, 20 May 2008. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore South Korean and Taiwan were down by between 0.4% to 4.48%.
US markets ended mixed on Monday 19 May 2008 after a late-day sell-off. Weakness in techs, retail and housing prompted traders to lock in some profits. The Dow gained 41.36 points, or 0.32%, to 13,028.16. The S&P 500 rose 1.28 points, or 0.09%, to 1,426.63. The Nasdaq composite index was down 12.76 points, or 0.50%, to 2,516.09.
Back home on Friday 16 May 2008, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 81.40 points or 0.47% at 17,434.94. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty advanced 42.45 points or 0.83% at 5,157.70.
The BSE Sensex had risen 697.87 points or 4.17% to 17,434.94 in the week ended Friday, 16 May 2008. The S&P CNX Nifty rose 175.10 points or 3.51% to 5157.70 in the week.
As per provisional data, foreign funds purchased shares worth a net Rs 475.87 crore on 16 May 2008. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 392.1 crore on that day.
Crude-oil futures had marked their first close above $127 a barrel Monday 19 May 2008, with the market extending last week's strength on growing concerns about energy supply and demand from China.