Sensex falls further on investor concerns; ends 68 pts down

Mumbai, Jan 31 (PTI) The BSE benchmark Sensex fell 68points in a volatile trade to 18,327.76, even as late buyingsupport in capital goods, power and refinery failed to checkthe decline for the fourth session in a row amid weak globalcues and investor concerns on rising interest rates.

Overall, the sentiment remained weak as foreign fundscontinued to pull out of Indian stock markets that are atnearly five-month lows.

Late recovery in stock markets was attributed by somemarketmen to growth of 6.6 per cent in the six infrastructureindustries in December, the numbers for which were releasedtoday, indicating that the Indian economy remains firm.

Besides, the government revised upwards the GDP growth to8 per cent for the last fiscal, 2009-10, from earlier estimateof 7.4 per cent, improving sentiment somewhat.

The bellwether index, Sensex, resumed trading thismorning sharply lower and touched 18,038.48, level not seensince September 1, 2010. It was down over 357 points followingweak global cues on the back of chaos in Egypt, whichinvestors said could spread to other Middle East countries.

Increased capital outflows weighed on the sentiment.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs706.84 crore last Friday as per provisional data, after havingalready pulled out Rs 1,397.40 crore on January 27.

However, fag end buying in select counters helped Sensexrecover a bit and settle the day at 18,327.76, down 68.21points or 0.37 per cent.

Similarly, the NSE 50-issue Nifty also initially logged afresh 5-month low of 5,416.65 before rebounding to finish at5,505.90, a fall of 6.25 points or 0.11 per cent. .