Mumbai, July 22 (Inditop.com) Selling pressure in heavyweight stocks dragged a key index of the Indian equities markets down 219 points Wednesday, after it rose more than 306 points during the day.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 15,124.92 points, lost 219.37 points or 1.46 percent to close at 14,843.12 points.
Similarly, the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 1.57 percent lower at 4,398.9 points.
Broader market indices ended in the negative as well, with the BSE midcap index closing 0.97 percent down and the BSE smallcap index ending 0.35 percent lower.
All the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE ended in the red, with capital goods, auto and power stocks stocks coming under selling pressure.
The market breadth tilted towards the negative with 1,231 stocks advancing compared to 1,374 declining. Ninety-nine remained unchanged.
There were only four gainers on the 30-scrip Sensex: ONGC, down 4.6 percent at Rs.1,092.90; Sterlite, down 0.91 percent at Rs.601.30; and DLF, down 0.79 percent at Rs.346.20 and NTPC, down 0.44 percent at Rs.203.50.
Losers included HDFC, down 4.43 percent at Rs.2,410.30; Hindalco, down 3.44 percent at Rs.85.50; Reliance Infra, down 3.36 percent at Rs.1,091.25 and Grasim Industries, down 3.32 percent at Rs.2,697.70.
Other Asian markets ended mixed, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed Wednesday in the green at 9,723.16 points, up 71.14 points, after having started weak.
On the other hand, the Hang Seng, the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ended in the red at 19,248.17 points, down 253.56 points.
European markets, which opened weak were still trading in the negative terrain with the FTSE 100, a key British index, ruling 6.39 points down at 4,474.78 points, while its French peer CAC 40 was ruling 22.54 points lower at 3,280.35 points.
Key US market indices futures pointed to a weak opening of the main indices Wednesday even as investors awaited results from financial major Morgan Stanley and aviation giant Boeing.
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 32 points, the Standard and Poor’s 500 index future was down 4.4 points, and the technology-scrip heavy Nasdaq futures shed 3.75 points.
