Sensex and Nifty slip deep into red

Mumbai, Aug 1: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex has shaved off a staggering 491.56 points till afternoon today to reach 15,059.43, from it's previous close of 15,550.99 after opening much weaker at 15,344.02, tracking weak Asian and global bourses.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index also registered a loss of 142.40 points at 4,386.45 from it's previous close of 4,528.85 after opening unchanged.

Market participants say that all the sectoral indices on BSE are in the red. BSE Realty index, BSE Capital Goods index, and Bankex were down by 3 per cent to 4 per cent. Asian and European markets tumbled today, as investor concern flared over the extent of the fall-out in the US subprime lending market, triggering widespread risk aversion.

In Asia, key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were down by between 2.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent. In Europe, key benchmark indices in London, Germany and France were down about 2 per cent each.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp, a large US mortgage provider, yesterday said it may have to liquidate assets, fuelling fears that the US housing slump was broadening and sending stocks reeling around the world.

Bear Stearns Cos Inc yesterday said it had halted redemptions in a third hedge fund after investors wanted to pull out their money.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 4201 crore so far, even as the market breadth was quite weak. 1,927 shares declined while 612 shares rose and 58 were unchanged. Losers outpaced gainers by a ratio of 3.14:1.

The early losers include Reliance Industries, Infosys, L&T, Bhel, ACC, HDFC, Hindalco, Mahindra&Mahindra, Tata Motors, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor and Maruti Udyog, while the only notable gainer was Essar Steel.

UNI