Last-minute selling trims 40 pts off Sensex

Our Markets Bureau

Mumbai, Oct 3: The Sensex moved in a narrow range before last minute sell-off, triggered by institutional investors, saw it losing 40 points to settle the day at 2754.95 on Wednesday. Losses by heavyweights kept the volumes at a low ebb with no buying support.

The cement stocks performed better on a lacklustre day following higher dispatches reported in September. Two-wheeler stocks like Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, coupled with Mahindra & Mahindra, reported marginal gains in their prices.

Trading in the domestic markets resumed against the backdrop of war fears and yet another Fed rate cut. The rates are amongst the lowest observed in 40 years. This has some what created doubts about the US economy, which has been showing signs of a slowdown.

The immediate impact of this, as expected, was seen in the IT stocks, which were at the receiving end. Infosys was one of the biggest losers along with Wipro, Satyam Computer and HCL Technologies. In fact, Infosys has fallen below the Rs 2,200-mark. It closed the day at Rs 2,197.80.

The Sensex opened the day almost flat. It scaled higher at 2808.45, the days high. However, continued selling pressure pulled it down and touched intra-day low at 2742.85 and in the end settled for the day at 2754.95.

The S&P CNX Nifty, too, opened flat. It touched a high of 915.05, but selling pressure saw it sinking below 900, the all important psychological level. It touched a low at 896.25 before settling for the day at 897.30.