Sensex resumes low at 9,631.59 pts, down by 102 pts

Mumbai, Nov 7 (UNI) The Sensex declined for the third straight day today to open at 9,631.59 points at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), with a big loss of 102.63 points from its last finish on profit bookings at higher levels by FIIs and others, in view of discouraging advice from Asian markets.

A cut in lending rate by South Korea, Europe and higher US index futures lifted the market in early trade but cut in India's economic growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pulled the market soon into the red. Volatility was high, a leading broker said.

Bargain hunting following a 25 basis points rate cut by the central bank in South Korea today, a steep 1.5 per cent cut in rate by the Bank of England yesterday and a 50 basis points cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) on that day, triggered a recovery in Asian stocks from an intra-day fall. Japan's Nikkei average was down by 0.8 per cent with bargain hunting helping the benchmark recover the losses of over six per cent earlier in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex is still down by 57.84 points at 9,676.71. The index recorded the day's low of 9,631.59, hit in early trade. The 50-unit S&P Nifty also eased by 2.30 points to 2,890.35.

It recorded the day's low at 2,860.10 points. The BSE Mid-cap index was down by 1.05 per cent to 3,283.44, while the BSE Small-cap index was down by 0.44 per cent to 3,862.60.

In the BSE, top heavy weight stocks suffered losses, including M&M by 5.59 per cent to Rs 358.00, ICICI Bank by 4.41 per cent to Rs 415, Maruti Suzuki by 2.83 per cent to Rs 583, Tata Steel by 2.82 per cent to Rs 181 and Ranbaxy Lab by 2.57 per cent to Rs 210.

However a few leading shares gained, including ITC by 2.40 per cent to Rs 172.80, NTPC Limited by 1.59 per cent to Rs 146.60, Bharti Airtel by 1.04 per cent to Rs 646.10 and Reliance by 0.98 per cent to Rs 1,183.

UNI AR/NV SR AG1145