Sensex recovers 300 pts

The market made a smart recovery from day's low to trade flat with a negative bias, following rebound in global markets. Bharti, ICICI Bank, TCS, Infosys, SBI and Wipro were lead players in this recovery. The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 14 points to 4,853 and the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 47 points to 16,115 after showing more than 300 points recovery from day's low of 15,801.01.

European markets like France's CAC and Germany's DAX jumped 2% each; Britain's FTSE rose 0.5%. Even the Dow Jones futures gained 0.6%, which lost more than 1.5%.

On the home turf, heavyweights like Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank shot up 2.5-3%. TCS, Infosys, SBI, DLF and Wipro were up 0.5-1.5%.

Jaiprakash Associates was the biggest gainer - jumped 3%. Tata group stocks too got back into green - Tata Steel, Tata Power and Tata Steel rose 0.5% each.

However, largecaps like L&T, ITC and NTPC went down 1.3-1.7%. ONGC and Reliance Industries fell 0.7% each.

Sterlite Industries, Hero Motocorp, Cairn, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, GAIL and Sesa Goa tumbled 2-3.5%.

But the broader indices underperformed benchmarks - the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell 1.2% each.

Rupee weakens tracking Asian peers

The rupee weakened on Monday morning, tracking lower Asian peers amid broad gains in the dollar against major currencies. Traders will watch the domestic share market for further cues.

* At 9:05 a.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 49.53/54 per dollar, after dropping to 49.69 in early deals and weaker than its close of 49.42/43 on Friday.

* The unit had shed 4.4% of its value last week, its biggest fall since the week ended July 12, 1996.

* The MSCI index of Asian stocks ex-Japan was down 1.8%, while the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were down 0.7%, suggesting a weak start to the local market.

* The index of the dollar against six major currencies was up 0.14% at 78.616 points. It was at 78.502 points when the rupee closed on Friday. Most Asian currencies were also lower versus the dollar.

* The euro dropped sharply on Monday, moving towards an eight-month low hit last week, as riskier assets were hammered across the board with markets waiting for more details on fresh efforts from European officials to tackle the debt crisis there.

Sensex dips below 16000, Nifty at 4800

Equity benchmarks fell further in line with rest of Asia. Oil & gas, capital goods, FMCG and private banks stocks were under pressure. The 30-share BSESensex was trading at 15934, down 228 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 69 points to 4798, led by panic selling.

Among Asian markets, Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan were down 1.5-2%. Jakarta Composite fell over 4% and KLSE Composite slipped nearly 3%. Shanghai declined just 0.5%. Thailand plunged 6.5%.

Macquarie Securities said equity markets continued to face downside risks. 

Among commodities, Silver crashed 7%. Crude slipped below USD 80 a barrel on the NYMEX.

John-Paul Smith of Deutsche Bank said the next phase of the unraveling of the carry trade might lead to major decline in commodity prices and increase signs of distress among EM corporates. "This could result in further underperformance of equities," he added.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Metal Index slipped 3% on the back of fall in commodities prices in international markets.

Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, FMCG, Auto, Realty and Bank indices were down 1-1.7%.

Largecaps like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ITC, L&T and HUL were down 1-2%. ONGC and SBI fell 0.7% each. Sterlite Industries plunged 4%.

Sensex trims losses; Re goes down to 49.74/$

The market recovered partially and appeared stable after sell-offs in initial trade. The 30-share BSESensex was trading at 16,226, down 134 points after seeing recovery of more than 100 points from early day's low. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 42 points to 4,881.

Technology (post fall in rupee to 49.74 per dollar), FMCG (defensive counters), PSU oil & gas and select power companies' shares were on buyers' radar.

However, financial, telecom, metal, capital goods and auto stocks were still under selling pressure, which weighed on the market.

Tata Motors, Sterlite Industries, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Cairn India, Axis Bank and SAIL were top losers among largecaps - these stocks plunged 3-4%.

However, TCS, Tata Power, Wipro, Infosys, NTPC and HCL Tech gained 1-2%. ONGC, ITC and HUL were other gainers; rose 0.6-0.9%.

The broader indices underperformed the benchmarks - the BSE Midcap Index was down 1.3% and Smallcap down 1.6%. About three shares fell for every share gaining on BSE.

Among midcaps, KGN Industries, Sunteck Realty, Trent, Patni Computer and Redington gained 1-5%.

Wall Street slides at open on recession fears

Stocks fell sharply at the open on Thursday, extending losses for a third day, as a grim outlook from the Federal Reserve and downbeat data in Europe and China heightened fears about a global recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 147.88 points, or 1.33%, at 10,976.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 13.82 points, or 1.18%, at 1,152.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 71.89 points, or 2.83%, at 2,466.30.