Metals, realty, IT, cap goods witness heavy sell-off

There was a whiff of panic in Wednesday's trading as selling triggered more selling, and investors simply dumped shares in order to obtain ca
sh. All sectoral indices were languishing in the negative terrain with metals, technology, realty and capital goods were the worst hit.

Non ferrous stocks like Sterlite Industries hit a 52-week low of Rs 280.7 within minutes of opening of trade on Wednesday. Similarily, Hindalco touched a 52-week low in early Wednesday trade at Rs 91.8. Brokers point out that the street is concerned that a potential recession in the USA in the short term, could put further pressure on LME non-ferrous prices over the next few quarters. Also, contributing to lacklustre interest in the non-ferrous metal sector is the uncertainty regarding the subscription levels for the current rights issue of Hindalco. The BSE Metal Index slumped 7.06 per cent to 7,001.76.

Among technology stocks, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro had their stock rating cut to 'sell' from 'neutral' at Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs revised Satyam Computer Services' rating from 'buy' to 'neutral'. Tata Consultancy dropped to its 52-week low to Rs 516.95, down nearly 9 per cent, Wipro fell 6.59 per cent, Satyam declined 9.78 per cent and Infosys Technologies shed 6.1 per cent.

The real estate pack collapsed sending the BSE Realty Index nearly 8 per cent lower. Indiabulls Realty, down 13.03 per cent reached a 52-week low after the realtor
posted a 77 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit of Rs 7.89 crore for the quarter to Sep 30. Mahindra Life Sciences was down 11.35 per cent, Sobha Developers lost 9.64 per cent, HDIL shed 12.24 per cent while industry biggies Unitech and DLF were down more than 6 per cent.

Weighing on the BSE Capital Goods Index were Larsen and Toubro, down 5.86 per cent, slipped below Rs 1000 and was trading at Rs 949. Reliance Industrial Infrastructure lost 11.27 per cent, Suzlon Energy hit a fresh low of Rs 106.60, down 14.45 per cent and BHEL shed 4.33 per cent.

Source: EconomicTimes