Ahead of the crucial announcement of inflation figures later in the day, rate-sensitive sectors continued to feel the pinch, led by the banking and realty sectors. Both the sectors were the worst performers of the day, losing over 5% in the BSE sectoral indices.
BSE Bankex lost over 357.87 points, or 5.16%, before ending the day at 6,577.91 points, while realty was down by 262.99 points or 5.05% and closed the day at 4,944.82 points. Among the top lossers were State Bank of India (SBI) which lost Rs 102.60 or 7.10% before closing the day at Rs 1,342.25.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation which was announced on Thursday evening, rose to 12.63% for the week ended August 9, as against 12.44% in the previous week. Dealers said, ?Anticipation of some strict measures from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to control inflation took a toll on these sectors. Also, such stocks are constituents of almost all portfolios and as investors dump these stocks for safer sectors, we have seen a ripple effect on these stocks.?