Market crashes on P-note worries

Mumbai: Markets nose-dived on Monday, the first trading session of the week, declining about 2 per cent owing to selling pressure with the concerns of the proposed stringent norms for participatory notes (p-notes) and Chinese stock rout.

Even the Finance Minister's statement to calm the markets that the government will not take any decision that is detrimental to the smooth flow of capital also failed to correct the market sentiment.

Experts say that markets entered the correction mode as investors dumping the stocks, which got eroded the investors' wealth of Rs 1.5 lakh crore on a single session. All the sectors have closed in negative with metals, bank, oil & gas and auto stocks registering heavy losses.

Sensex tanks 551 points to 27,561 for the third consecutive session, while Nifty closed down 160 points at 8,361, below 8,400-level. The broader markets have also seen profit taking with midcap and smallcap indices down over 1 per cent.

Besides the p-notes and Chinese fall, weak earnings from big corporate houses, uncertain reforms, political disturbances and US Fed meet to decide rate hike also weighed on the market sentiment.

From metals space, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Vedanta ended down 3 to 5 per cent, while banking space private lenders lost fearing heavy NPAs. Among the losers ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI declined up to 4 per cent.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries shares seen profit taking ended about 2 per cent down, however, the company on Friday announced better-than-expected first quarter earnings data. Other losers include L&T, Infosys, HDFC and ONGC.

The gainers: Bajaj Auto, up 0.41 per cent at Rs 2,507.70.

The losers: Tata Steel, down 5.17 per cent at Rs 251.40; Hero MotoCorp, down 4.84 per cent at Rs 2,605.65; Hindalco Inds, down 4.40 per cent at Rs 104.25; Axis Bank, down 4.34 per cent at Rs 555.75; and ONGC, down 4.12 per cent at Rs 271.40.