Sensex quoted below 14,000 points

{image-sensex, big_29072008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Mumbai, Jul 29:The benchmark Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange was Tuesday, July 29, quoted below the 14,000 mark, touching a low at 13,829 points at noon with a massive loss of 507.18 points from its last close on further monetary tightening policy by RBI.

Similarly, the broader based S &P CNX Nifty index of NSE was also quoted below 4200 points, down 142.2 points or 3.28 per cent at 4,189.80 during the same period. The key benchmark indices slumped after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points and repo rate by 50 basis points in its monetary policy today. Sensex fell more than 500 points to fall below the 14,000 mark.

The market had remained subdued earlier in the day on weak global markets.

The market breadth was weak as selling was witnessed across the board. Rate sensitive banking, realty and auto stocks tumbled.

Reliance Industries slipped. ICICI Bank and Reliance infrastructure were major losers from the Sensex pack.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today raised repo rate by 50 basis points to a seven-year high of 9 per cent to curb inflation, now running close to 12 pc, and dampen inflationary expectations. RBI also raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the proportion of funds that banks must keep in deposits with it, by 25 basis points to 9 pc.

The central bank left its reverse repo and bank rates unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.92 pc to 5,522.82 and the BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.8 pc to 6,857.55.

Banking stocks fell with ICICI Bank down from 6.61 pc to Rs 619.60 followed by State Bank of India by 4.65 pc to Rs 1,352.10 and HDFC Bank by 7.24 pc to Rs 1,045.50 edged lower. India's largest dedicated mortgage firm by operating income HDFC fell 6.5 pc to Rs 2,077.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries fell 2.39 pc to Rs 2,127.

Leading sensitive auto stocks also fell as Tata Motors was down 5.24 pc to Rs 403.65 followed by Maruti Suzuki India by 6.81 pc to Rs 569, Mahindra &Mahindra by 4.26 pc to Rs 507 and Hero Honda was Motors down 2.02 pc to Rs 745.

Major sensitive realty stocks slipped such as Indiabulls Real Estate declined 11.1 pc to Rs 255.10, DLF (down 5.05 pc to Rs 474.25) and Unitech (down 7.01 pc to Rs 156.85).

UNI