MARKETS Yesterday's Gain Is Today's Loss For Sensex 19 August 2009 It was yesterday no more for the markets as further bad news on the drought-like situation and weak global trends pulled down the BSE Sensex on Wednesday by 226 points, close to what it gained in the previous session. Brokers attributed the fall to doubts on the possibilities of recovery across the world and continued concerns on the drought-like situation in many parts of the country and what it would do to rural demand. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer initially touched a high of 15,096.94 before sliding to a low of 14,684.45. It later recovered some ground to settle the day at 14,809.64, a fall of 1.50 per cent from its previous close. On Tuesday, the Sensex ended up by 250.34 points or 1.69 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by a whopping 4.3 per cent to a two-month low. Other Asian markets also ended in the red. Trading in US stock index futures indicated a fall at the opening bell on Wednesday, which put pressure on the local markets. Bonanza Portfolio Assistant Vice-President Avinash Gupta said: "The Chinese stock market casts its shadow. The Nifty went down and so did the other Asian and European markets. The market is in a phase of consolidation and is expected to make range-bound movements with a downward bias. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said nearly half the agricultural area in the country is in the spell of drought. Yesterday, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the poor monsoon will adversely impact farm production and trim economic growth. Heavy sell-off by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) led to the fall. After pulling out Rs 973.80 crore on Monday, they sold shares worth Rs 721.84 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional data. However, domestic institutional investors picked up shares to the tune of Rs 467.44 crore on the same day. The broad-based 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also fell by 64.80 points or 1.45 per cent to end at 4,394.10 from its last close. The European markets also displayed a feeble trend in afternoon trade today. In the Sensex pack, ACC dropped 5.08 per cent, REL Infra 4.86 per cent, REL Com 4.38 per cent, Grasim 4.20 per cent, and Tata Steel 3.93 per cent. All sectoral indices ended with losses between 0.42 per cent and 2.68 per cent. Taking the lead, oil & gas dipped 254.71 points or 2.68 per cent, followed by metals, which fell 284.23 points or 2.33 per cent. (PTI)   Articles Blogs Conversations Placements Events