Fresh selling in heavyweights Reliance Industries, metal and auto shares dragged key benchmark indices at day's low in mid-morning trade. Fall in exports for the first time in five years in October 2008 and poor global cues spoiled early sentiment. The market breadth was weak as small and mid-cap stocks succumbed to selling pressure.
At 11:25 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 466.14 points, or 4.42%, to 10,070.02. The Sensex opened 149.71 points lower at 10,386.45. At the day's low of 10,067.68, the Sensex lost 468.48 points in mid-morning trade. The Sensex lost 138.80 points at the day's high of 10,397.36 in early trade.
The S&P CNX Nifty lost 122.65 points, or 3.89%, to 3,025.50
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak on BSE with 1276 shares declining as compared with 738 that advanced. 50 shares remained unchanged.
The total turnover on the BSE amounted to Rs 1050 crore by 11:30 IST as compared to Rs 539 crore by 10:30 IST
Shares from the textiles, apparel, gems and jewellery, diamonds, leather among others slipped after latest data showed a decline for the first time in the last five years
Gokaldas Exports (down 2.86% to Rs 125.50), Alok Industries (down 5.97% to Rs 18.90), Welspun Industries (down 6.56% to Rs 23.50), Gitanjali Gems (down 7.20% to Rs 87), Classic Diamond (down 4.04% to Rs 22.55), Bata India (down 3.10% to Rs 103.35), Liberty shoes (down 1.56% to Rs 47.20), slipped.
There has been a decline of over 15% in exports in dollar terms in October 2008, the Director General of Foreign Trade R S Gujral said on Monday, 10 November 2008. Excluding the export of the petroleum products, there has been a decline of over 20%. Growth in April-October 2008 has been 21.5%, down from 30.9% for the April-September 2008 period.
Seven key export segments - textiles, apparel, gems and jewellery, diamonds, brassware, handicraft and leather - are reeling under recessionary trends, said an appraisal of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
Reliance Communications was the lone gainer from the 30-member Sensex pack. India's second largest cellular services provider by market capitalisation Reliance Communications gained 1.61% to Rs 239.35, as fresh long build-up was seen in the counter in the futures & options segment on Monday, 10 November 2008.
Auto shares declined after automobile sales in the festive month of October fell by 14.42%.
Mahindra & Mahindra (down 3.48% to Rs 374.60), Tata Motors (down 4.92% to Rs 161.45), and Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.68% to Rs 580.10), edged lower
The total number of automobiles (which include cars, commercial vehicles, two-wheelers etc) sold in October 2008 slipped to 8.65 lakh compared with 10.11 lakh units sold in October 2007. This is the steepest fall in monthly sales for the auto industry in FY09. In the FY08, the auto sector grew by a respectable 12%. The key reason for the sharp decline in sales has been the credit squeeze as 70% of vehicle sales in the country (90% in case of commercial vehicles) are financed through loans.
Metal shares reversed Monday's, 10 November 2008 sharp gains, as gloomy US company news overnight reinforced worries about an economic slowdown. India's top aluminium and copper producer by sales, Sterlite Industries lost 7.70% to Rs 257.70 on 5.10 lakh shares. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack. The stock had surged 13.73% to Rs 279.20 on Monday, 10 November 2008, as metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange on China's economic stimullas package.
Tata Steel (down 4.59% to Rs 204.50), Sesa Goa (down 5.01% to Rs 81.50), Jindal Steel & Power (down 5.5% to Rs 801), Sail (down 5.01% to Rs 84.30) and Hindalco Industries (down 7.49% to Rs 61.85), were the other losers from the metal pack.
India's largest private sector company by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) lost 6.58% to Rs 1217.25 on reports it is unlikely to meet its previously-announced commissioning schedules for two key oil and gas projects.
Jaiprakash Associates (down 5.91% to Rs 90.80), Bhel (down 5.47% to Rs 1429.90), and Infosys (down 5.11% to Rs 1269.85), edged lower from the Sensex pack.
India's third largest IT exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services fell 5.56% to Rs 280.05 despite acquiring US mobile phone-maker Motorola's software development centre in Malaysia for an undisclosed sum. Satyam will absorb the centre's 128 employees and take over the units assets as part of the deal. The acquisition is expected to create synergies and boost Satyam's competitiveness in Malaysia and Asia Pacific.
India's largest private sector bank by net profit lost 5.12% to Rs 447 despite 4.62% rally in its ADR on Monday, 10 November 2008.
Everest Kanto Cylinder jumped 3.86% to Rs 198 after the company said it will consider share buyback and invest Rs 10 crore in a joint venture. The company made the announcement after market hours on 10 November 2008.
GEI Industrial Systems surged 3.04% to Rs 39 on bagging an export order worth Rs 24.50 crore. The company announced the order win before trading hours today, 11 November 2008.
US light, sweet crude for December 2008 delivery fell $1.91 or 3% to $60.50 a barrel today, 11 November 2008 on a firmer dollar and on renewed gloom over the global economy.
Most Asian markets were trading lower today, 11 November 2008. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan were down by between 0.59% and 1.41%. However China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.36%.
US markets dropped on Monday, 10 November 2008 as a worsening outlook for companies from Goldman Sachs to Google overshadowed China's $586 billion stimulus plan and pledges by the world's biggest nations to bolster economic growth. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 73.27 points, or 0.82%, to 8,870.54. The S&P 500 index declined 11.78 points, or 1.27%, to 919.21, and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 30.66 points, or 1.86%, to 1,616.74.
Back home, unabated buying in blue chips throughout the day triggered a solid rally on Monday, 10 November 2008 after China's massive economic stimulus plan raised expectations that authorities elsewhere would follow suit. The BSE Sensex surged 571.87 points or 5.74%, to 10,536.16 and the S&P CNX Nifty advanced 175.25 points or 5.89%, to settle at 3148.25, on that day.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers worth Rs 92.33 crore while mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 377.66 crore on Monday, 10 November 2008, according to provisional data on NSE.