Sensex down one percent, oil and gas stocks plunge

New Delhi  : A benchmark index of Indian equities market was trading nearly one percent down around 2.45 p.m. Monday, on the back of slow economic recovery and negative global cues.

India’s economic growth slumped to a decade-low of 5 percent in the financial year ended March 31, 2013, due to poor show of mining and farm sectors, official data showed Friday.

According to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) registered a feeble recovery in January-March quarter, posting a growth of 4.8 percent. It had expanded by 4.7 percent in the previous quarter.

The economic growth remained below five percent in the second half of the year, even as the government took a number of steps to revive investments and growth.

There was heavy selling pressure in the oil and gas, bank, automobile, capital goods and consumer durables stocks. However, information technology (IT), technology, media and entertainment (TECk) scrips gained.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,859.22 points, was trading at 19,574.31 points, down 185.99 points or 0.94 percent from its previous day’s close at 19,760.30 points.

Sensex touched a high of 19,860.19 points and a low of 19,541.97 points in intra-day trade.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was trading at 0.81 percent or 48.70 points up at 5,937.25 points.

The oil and gas index went down by 152.07 points, bank index 132.48 points, the auto index dipped 124.46 points, the capital goods index went down by 115.59 points and the consumer durables index slid 96.42 points.

The S&P BSE IT index was up at 49.89 points, while the TECk index surged 30.38 points.

Among other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei was 3.72 percent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng went 0.49 percent down. China’s Shanghai Composite Index was trading 0.06 percent lower.

Major European markets were trading in the negative territory. Britain’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.58 percent lower, while German DAX was down 0.86 percent. The French CAC 40 was 0.71 percent lower.

Photo  : AFP