Shares continue southward journey; Nifty slips below 5,700

Political uncertainty triggered by the withdrawal of support to the UPA Government by DMK kept the market on the edge. Investors appeared worried about continuity of policy reforms in the backdrop of slowing economy.

Financials, energy, infra, metal, realty and auto counters bore the brunt of selling. Renewed global worries in the wake of Cyprus new bailout and the RBI's hawkish tone on further monetary policy easing also dampened the sentiments.

Trading got off to a weak start, though there was no panic sell-off and moved in a narrow range in the backdrop of assertions by key Congress Ministers that there was no threat to the Manmohan Singh government.

However, a nervous market continued its southward journey and witnessed heavy unwinding later in the day.

The 50-share Nifty slumped to a low of 5,682.30 before ending at 5,694.40, a sharp fall of 51.55 points, or 0.90 per cent, from the last close.

Among the key Nifty losers Reliance Infra plummeted 9.25 per cent, Bharti Airtel 4.55 per cent, JP Associates 4.27 per cent, IDFC 4.14 per cent, DLF 4.02 per cent, SBIN 3.85 per cent, ACC 3.50 per cent, NTPC 3.26 per cent, PNB 2.92 per cent and Hindalco dropped 2.90 per cent.

The notable gainers included HUL, Asian

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