Sensex tumbles 285 points

Mumbai, March 19: The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange plunged 285 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at a two-week low of 19,008, even as the Reserve Bank announced its credit policy review, and as European markets fell, today.

During the session, the Sensex had dropped below the 19,000 level.

The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange fell 89 points, or 1.5 percent, to 5,746.

But stock markets in Japan, China, Singapore and South Korea gained between 0.4 percent and 2 percent.


Traders said the market received jolt after the RBI cut key interest rate by 0.25 per cent but indicated that there is limited room for further monetary easing.

"The RBI has acted according to the expectation of the market. But still we saw Rupee and Sensex turning around on the back of hawkish comments made by the RBI," said Abhishek Goenka, Founder & CEO, India Forex Advisors.

A weak trend in the Asian region and lower opening in Europe before Cypriot lawmakers meet to discuss a bank-deposit levy, also shadowed the region stock markets, traders said.

Financial and interest sensitive stocks were major losers and pulled down the benchmark to suffer its biggest single day loss in last three weeks.

The stock of Bharti Airtel plunged 4.74 per cent to Rs 293.40 after a Delhi court summoned its Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal in additional spectrum allocation case.

The banking index fell 1.97 per cent to 13,209.63.

In 30-BSE index components, 24 stocks declined led by BHEL, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Jindal Steel, ONGC, Larsen and Toubro, Mahindra and Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever.

All sectoral indices were down led by realty and capital goods by losing up to 3.63 per cent. (