With the European markets in a tailspin and Indian rupee breaching the Rs 51- mark against the dollar, the stock markets took a dive today with the Sensex losing about 400 points and Nifty 136 points.
FMCG major ITC touched its 52-week high despite the mauling the markets were subjected to.
The severity of the fall could be judged from the fact that of the 50-stock Nifty, only two were in the green -- Coal India and Hero MotoCorp.
While Coal India closed at Rs 338, a gain of Rs 6.85, Hero MotoCorp gained Rs 10.90 to close at Rs 1,937.30.
ITC reached a 52-week high of Rs 226.70 but the stock closed weaker at Rs 218.70, a loss of Rs 5.15.
The avalanche did not spare any sector. Within sectors, the impact on stocks ranged from marginal to heavy.
For instance, among the IT stocks, TCS shed Rs 8.55 to close at Rs 1,167.20 and Wipro was down Rs 7.05 at Rs 420.55. But Infosys lost Rs 49.85 to end at Rs 2817.45 and HCL Tech was down Rs 14.85 at Rs 477.
In the auto space, while Hero MotoCorp gained and Tata Motors was down Rs 5.95 at Rs 270.15 while M&M shed Rs 19.65 to close at Rs 679.95, Maruti was upended by Rs 41.90 at Rs 1,321.30 and Bajaj Auto lost Rs 54.05 at Rs 1,679.95.
This mixed trend was visible among the banking stocks as well. HDFC Bank lost Rs 12.85 at Rs 502.80. But PNB was down by Rs 36 at Rs 939, SBI shed Rs 79.85 at Rs 2,153, Axis Bank lost Rs 57.70 at Rs 1,171.05 and ICICI Bank closed at Rs 895.95, a loss of Rs 38.10.
The other major losers were Jindal Steel (–Rs 42.10 at Rs 547), Reliance Infra (-Rs 40.55 at Rs 580), L&T and ACC that both were down by about Rs 51 each and Tata Steel that was down by Rs 25 at Rs 447.