Sensex down over 500 pts; Asian mkts extend losses

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At 12:02 hours IST, the Sensex slipped further led by selling across all the sectors, was down over 500 points and the Nifty declined over 150 points. Concerns about Dubai's debt restructuring plan shook the confidence of investors across the globe, as it is a centre for investment and a source of capital for many countries.

Realty stocks were taking huge beating, as respective index plunged over 6%. The BSE Bank, Metal, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas indices fell 3-4%. Advance:decline ratio was at 1:14 on the NSE.

Asian markets extended losses. Kospi plunged 4.7%. Hang Seng, Nikkei and Taiwan Weighted fell 3-4%. Shanghai and Jakarta slipped 2-2.7%.

According to Reuters, the Emirate said on Wednesday it would ask creditors of Dubai World, the conglomerate behind its rapid expansion, and Nakheel, builder of its palm-shaped islands, to agree a standstill on billions of dollars of debt as a first step towards restructuring.  Dubai World has USD 59 billion of liabilities, representing a large part of Dubai's total debt of USD 80 billion.

The Dubai government's announcement prompted Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service to sharply cut their ratings on several government-related entities. Moody's slashed some units to junk status and S&P said the restructuring could be considered a default.

The Sensex was down 516 points at 16338, and the Nifty was down 159 points at 4845.

In the largecaps, heavy selling was seen in Siemens, DLF, Jaiprakash Associates, Larsen and Unitech down 5-7%. Ranbaxy Labs and Cipla were the only two stocks on the Nifty, which were trading with positive bias.

In the realty space, Orbit Corp was the top loser down close to 10%. Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL, Omaxe, Sobha Developers, Ansal Properties, Anant Raj Inds, Parsvnath Developers, DLF and Unitech were down 5-9%.

In the banking space, IOB, Allahabad Bank, Bank Of Baroda, Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank were down 4-6%.

Top gainers on the BSE Midcap - KGN Industries, Jain Irrigation, Wockhardt, CI India and EIH were up 1-5%.

Top losers on the BSE Midcap - BF Utilities, Indiabulls Real, HDIL, Sobha Developer and Indiabulls were down 6-8%.

Top gainers on the BSE Smallcap - JMD Telefilms, Money Matters, Rico Auto, Religare Techno and Page Industries were up 1-5%.

Top losers on the BSE Smallcap - Orbit Corporation, Mahindra Forg, Deep Industries, JSW Holdings and Ganesh Housing were down 8-10%.

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