Sensex declines 126 points

 Economy
Dec 132012
 

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Dec 13, 2012, 04.58PM IST
MUMBAI: Falling for the fifth straight day, the BSE benchmark Sensex today closed 126 points down on sustained selling by investors ahead of wholesale inflation data amid a weakening trend in the European region.

Extending its previous four sessions loss of 132 points, the gauge dropped 0.65 per cent to close at 19,229.26 points.

The 30-share index touched the day’s high of 19,421.72. Similarly, the broad-based 50-stock Nifty of NSE lost 36.50 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 5,851.50, after touching a high of 5,907.45.

Brokers said the cautious investors indulged in selling over concern that any further fall in inflation data might fade chances of the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rate in its mid-quarter policy review on December 18.

WPI-based inflation data will be announced tomorrow. Traders said a weakening trend in the euro zone after the US Federal Reserve announced new measures to support the world’s largest economy, further dampened the investor confidence.

Selling pressure was wide-based as all sectoral indices, barring auto and refinery, closed with losses up to 2.73 per cent.

Infosys led the fall in the software sector by losing 0.69 per cent to Rs 2,283 over concern that dim situations on the global front might hurt revenues.

ITC Ltd, also a prominent member of the index, tumbled by 3.55 per cent to Rs 295 after FTSE global equity index series cut the stock’s “investability” weight to 24 per cent from 75 per cent.

The consumer durable sector index suffered the most by losing 2.73 per cent to 7,862.13 followed by FMCG index by 2.64 per cent to 5,970.55. Realty index fell by 1.62 per cent to 2,046.54.

Sebi on flash crash: Norms to protect investors soon

 Economy
Dec 122012
 

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Dec 12, 2012, 01.30PM IST
MUMBAI: Markets watchdog Sebi said on Wednesday that guidelines to prevent flash markets crash like what happened on the NSE in October and protect the interests of investors will be in place within a few days.

“I expect the final guidelines to safeguard the interests of investors due to flash crashes in a few days,” Sebi chairman UK Sinha told reporters at a CII-organised capital markets summit here, without elaborating further.

It can be recalled on October 5, there was a massive 900-point flash crash of the benchmark Nifty which wiped out nearly Rs 10 trillion of investor wealth.

Following the flash crash, trading was halted for about 15 minutes. A report of Sebi ordered probe is awaited.

The NSE claimed there was no technical glitch in its system and blamed the crash on erroneous orders worth over Rs 650 crore for multiple trades by broker Emkay Global in various stocks at low prices on behalf of an “institutional client”.

The incident occurred on a day when expectations were high for an upward rally on bourses, following some big-ticket reform measures approved by the government the previous evening, including on FDI in sectors like insurance and pension.