Weak cues from European and Asian markets along with concerns over the effect of a stimulus package for the markets forced key equity indices to end the day in the red on Friday.
The 30-share Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) lost 264.55 points, or 2.87%, and ended at 8,965.20 points on Friday. Dealers in the market say, markets started the day in the red tracking weak cues from the US markets and remained under pressure for the entire trading session amid huge volatility.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shed 73.60 points, or 2.64%, and closed at 2,714.40 points. An analyst from a leading broking house said, ?There is a lot of uncertainty in the market as investors are eying the Reserve Bank of India?s (RBI) meet on Saturday, which might cut the repo and reverse repo rate, to maintain the domestic economy against the global economic crisis. Besides this, the government is likely to announce an export package, a further relaxation in external commercial borrowing norms and a package for infrastructure.?
Barring automobiles, all sectoral indices on the BSE ended in red, with consumer durables, IT and realty being the worst performers. Sudhir Nayak, vice president-portfolio management services (PMS) at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd, said, ?We expect some aggressive cut in the SLR and CRR from the central bank meet on Saturday. Apart from that, we also need some more measures from the monetary front rather than the fiscal front.?
The overall breadth of the marker remained negative for the entire trading session, as out of 2,160 stocks traded on the BSE, only 985 stocks advanced, 1,104 stocks declined and 71 remained unchanged. In the Sensex, 25 stocks ended in red and remaining five stocks closed with gains. A dealer from the market added, ?Though we might have a decent stimulus package, however, global cues would still be vital to sustain a rally in the domestic markets.?