Sensex down 135 points; metal stocks plunge

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets plunged 135.52 points or 0.52 percent Monday as metal stocks dipped. Most of the stocks were trading in red and selling pressure was seen in metal, oil and gas, banking and auto sectors.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 26,173.47 points, closed trade at 25,991.23 points, down 135.52 points or 0.52 percent from the previous day's close at 26,126.75 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 26,181.83 points and a low of 25,900.25 points in the trade so far. The S&P BSE metal index plummeted by 199.25 points, oil and gas index plunged by 139.35 points, bankex dropped by 121.60 points, automobile index went down by 121.36, and capital goods down 102.63 points.

However, consumer durables ended high by 48.26 points, information technology (IT) rose 36.39 points, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) increased by 26.92 points and healthcare index was up 19.28 points. The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 41.75 points or 0.54 percent down at 7,748.70 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Hindustan Unilever, up 3.69 percent at Rs.686.45; Sun Pharma, up 1.33 percent at Rs.789.70; BHEl, up 1.17 percent at Rs.229.50; Wipro, up 0.86 percent at Rs.555.10; and DrReddys lab, up 0.76 percent at Rs.2,766.70.

The losers were: Coal India, down 3.14 percent at Rs.364.40; Hindalco Inds, down 2.06 percent at Rs.187.85; Tata Motors, down 1.89 percent at Rs.453.15; Tata Steel, down 1.72 percent at Rs.547.55; and ICICI Bank, down 1.65 percent at Rs.1,451.50.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.46 percent, while Hong Kong's Heng Seng ended 0.88 percent higher. China's Shanghai Composite Index went 2.41 percent up.

In Europe, london's FTSE 100 was down 0.03 percent, the French CAC 40 was lower by 0.18 percent, and Germany's DAX Index had lost 0.18 percent at the closing bell here.