Sensex crashes by 540.74 points

Mumbai, Feb 28 (UNI) The Sensex today crashed by 540.74 points and closed in the red at 12, 938.09 on the Bombay Stock Exchange as panic selling gripped the markets after presentation of the Union Budget, perceived by market analysts as 'populist' and 'market-unfriendly'.

The market was hammered post-Budget, as it turned out to be a big disappointment. The steep fall came amid extremely high volatility.

The 30-shares BSE Sensex tumbled by 540.74 points, to settle at 12,938.09, on heavy selling across the board. The barometer Sensex moved in a range of approximately 500 points; 13,298.52 on the higher side and 12,800.91 on the lower.

The BSE Metal and CG Indices plunged by 414.43 and 310.90 points to settle at 8513.55 and 8834.84 points respectively, followed by IT and Bankex, which were down by 302.41 and 286.81 to close at 4,869.99 and 6408.01 points, respectively.

Besides, the SML cap, Mid cap, Auto, Oil&Gas, Tech, PSU and HC indices declined approximately between 100 to 200 points.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to a poor Rs 5,683 crore.

The market-breadth was weak and there were close to four losers for every single gainer. On the BSE, 1,968 shares declined compared to only 594 that advanced, brokers said.

All the 30-members of the Sensex pack ended in the red.

On the other hand, the S&P CNX Nifty index of the NSE was down by around 148 points, to close at 3,745.30.

A market analyst pointed out that another factor that weighed down the markets today was the bearish mood prevalent in global markets.

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