Sensex ends 478 pts down, its biggest 1-day fall since Sept

It was a bad start to the week on Monday - the market saw biggest one-day fall since September 2011 led by huge shorts build up and unwinding of long positions. UP election results expected on March 6 and spike in crude oil prices to 10-month high may have deteriorated investors' sentiment. The fall was not only restricted to largecaps but also to broader markets, which tanked more than 3%.

Indian equities underperformed global peers today. The Sensex fell 477.82 points or 2.67%, to close at 17,445.75 led by selling in 28 stocks.

Meanwhile, the Nifty lost 148.10 points or 2.73% to 5,281.20, extending from previous week's 2% loss. European markets were down 0.7-1% while the Dow Jones futures dropped over 50 points.

Ambareesh Baliga, COO of Way2Wealth warns crude oil prices, election results and monetary policy are worrying the market more.

"Oil prices will have a bearing on the monetary policy. It is possible that there could be a rethink of rate cut in case oil going beyond USD 130 per barrel or towards USD 140 per barrel. At the same time these election results, which is quite uncertain. The market has been expecting a good show from Congress and the SP and them coming together, In case that does not happen then it could be a negative for the markets," he reasoned.

According to him, the market could have a stop at about 5200 on the Nifty.

All BSE sectoral indices closed in a negative terrain barring FMCG. Rate sensitives took huge beating as rate cuts by RBI may be postponed if crude oil prices keep rising.

Brent crude touched USD 125.5 a barrel on Friday, but it saw some correction today. Brent crude was trading at USD 123.92 a barrel, down 1.24% and NYMEX crude fell 1.2% to USD 108.46/barrel.

Shares of Sesa Goa topped the selling list, falling 10.5% after London listed metals and mining company Vedanta Resources approved merger of Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries on Saturday. The new company called Sesa Sterlite. Cairn India fell 0.9% and Sterlite Industries lost 2.5%, which were up in early trade.

Realty and Metal indices were down 5%. Power, Bank, Capital Goods, Auto and Oil & Gas indices tanked 3-4%.

Index heavyweights Reliance and ICICI Bank were down 4.8% each. L&T and SBI plunged 3.6%; BHEL was down nearly 5%.

Infosys, HDFC, HDFC Bank, TCS and ONGC plummeted 1-2%. Tata Steel and Hero Motocorp tumbled around 7%.

However, ITC outperformed other largecaps, rising 1.4%.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 2213 to 637 on the BSE.

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At 14:28 hours IST: Nifty slips below 5300; broader markets down 3%

The Nifty hit a three-week low to fall way below 5300 while the Sensex slipped more than 450 points as huge shorts piled up and long positions unwinding took place. Equity benchmarks underperfomed their global peers as European markets were down more than 1.5%.

The Sensex plummeted 485 points or 2.7% to 17,438. Meanwhile, the Nifty lost 155 points or 2.85% to 5,275 led by sell-off in 45 stocks. The broader markets tanked over 3%.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, L&T, SBI and ICICI Bank crashed 3.6-5%. Infosys, HDFC Bank and TCS were down 1-1.7% while BHEL plunged 5%.

Among metals stocks, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Hindalco tumbled 5.5-6%.

In the auto space, Hero Motocorp lost over 6%. M&M, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Maruti were down 3-4.5%.

Market breadth deteriorated further; about four shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Tube Investment rallied 9%. AIA Engineering, Godfrey Phillip, 3M India and Gillette India gained 2-2.7% while Sintex Industries, BF Utilities, HCC, Jaypee Infra and PTC India were down 8-9%.

Smallcaps like Nirlon, Triveni Turbine, C Mahendra Exports, SPML Infra and Pradip Overseas shot up 4.5-11%. However, Kalyani Steels, Spanco, Mangalore Chemical, Shasun Pharma and Provogue tumbled 9%.

At 13:37 hours IST: Nifty sheds 100 pts; Bharti, Cipla, ITC outperform

Rising crude prices and impending result of UP election have dampened sentiments in the market. The Sensex fell more than 300 points and the Nifty slipped over 100 points, with ICICI Bank, L&T, Reliance, BHEL and SBI taking a hard knock. The broader markets saw major sell-off as compared to benchmarks - the BSE Midcap and Smallcap Index fell over 2.2%. However, ITC, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Cipla and Sun Pharma outperformed other largecaps, gaining 0.3-1%.

The Sensex was trading down 314 points to 17,609 led by 25 out of 30 stocks. Meanwhile, the Nifty was trading at 5,328, down 101 points.

Concerns of rising crude oil prices, that will lead to higher inflation, has gripped the market.  At present India imports more than 75% of its oil from overseas. The impending RBI policy next month may not consider rate cuts in near term.

Another worrisome factor for the market is UP election results, scheduled to be announced on March 6. There are rumours that the congress may not get majority in votes.

Rate sensitives like ICICI Bank and SBI were down 3.6% & 2.2%, respectively. Auto stocks like Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj Auto and Maruti tanked 2-2.7%; Hero Motocorp plunged nearly 5%. In the realty space, DLF lost 3.5%.

Capital goods stocks like L&T and BHEL dropped 3-4%. Metals too lost their shine - Tata Steel and Jindal Steel tumbled over 4.5%; Hindalco was down 4%; Sterlite and Coal India were down 1.4-2% while Sesa Goa slipped 9% due to merger of Sterlite with the company.

At 12:40 hours IST : Cap goods, banks, metals drag Sensex 300 pts down

The NSE Nifty fell 1.8% on Monday, extending last week's 2% decline, as high global oil prices revived concerns about inflation in the country that imports about 80% of its oil consumption.

The market witnessed heavy sell-off in sectors like banks (barring HDFC Bank), capital goods, metals.  The market breadth worsened; about three shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

The Sensex was down 304 points or 1.69% to 17,620 and the Nifty fell 1.8% or 97.5 points to 5,332.

Lenders such as ICICI Bank and bigger rival SBI led the losers on worry price pressures could make it difficult for the RBI to ease monetary policy.

R Sukumar, MD and chief investment officer - Franklin Asian Equities, Franklin Templeton Investments says that even though there is a possibility of a correction because of the recent strong rally, the market may not test the lows of 2011 as the risk aversion has abated substantially on a global basis.

Sesa Goa was the biggest loser among largecaps, falling 10% after Vedanta Resources' decision of merger between Sesa Goa and Stelite in last weekend.

Automakers and steel producers also fell as investors took profits after the main stock index posted its first weekly decline in 2012 last week.

Largecaps like BHEL, IDFC, Jindal Steel, Hindalco, DLF and L&T topped the selling list, falling 4-6%

Tata Steel, M&M, Hero Motocorp, NTPC and Tata Power were down 2.5-4.5%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped 1.6%.

However, Cipla, ITC, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Sun Pharma and BPCL bucked the trend, gaining 0.6-1%.

In the second line shares, Sintex Industries, IFCI, PTC India, HCC and SREI Infra fell 6-8%. Smallcaps like Spanco, Kalyani Steels, Bartronics, Gujarat NRE Coke and Emco lost 7-9%.

At 10:59 hours IST: Sensex falls 1% as crude hits $ 125/bbl: Sesa Goa tanks 9%

The market continued to trade lower for the 4th consecutive session as crude oil prices spiked over Iran tensions. Rate sensitives, capital goods and metals stocks were reeling under pressure. Index heavyweights Reliance and Infosys too were down.

The Sensex fell 181 points or 1% to 17,742.87 and the Nifty slipped 61 points to 5,368.10 as crude prices remained volatile. Brent crude was trading at USD 124.66 a barrel, down 0.54% and NYMEX crude was at USD 109.35 a barrel, down 0.4%.

Rakesh Arora of Macquarie Capital Securities says the chances of the Nifty falling back to 4,800 levels after its recent heady run up is