Sensex drops over 600-pt on bad global cues; Metal melts - 8th October

Benchmark indices have opened with sharp cut in early trade following bad cues from global markets, as Bank of America pre-announced disappointing earnings, cautious comments from Ben Bernanke and IMF comments triggered heavy sell-off in US markets.

Selling pressure is seen across the board, all indices are in red. Major crack is seen in metal, technology, capital goods, realty, telecom, power, oil and banking stocks. Midcap and small cap stocks are witnessing huge beating on the bourses.

At 10:06 am, the Sensex fell 609 points to 11,085 and the Nifty dropped 170 points to 3,436. CNX Midcap fell 3.68% to 4,270.

Asian markets are trading sharply lower. Shanghai, Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times, Kospi, Taiwan and Jakarta fell 3-5.5%.

US markets plunged in the dying minutes of trade as comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke failed to soothe jittery markets. Dow Jones lost about 508 points, a figure eerily similar to the close on black Monday in 1987. The Dow plunged 508.39 points, or 5.11%, to 9,447.11. The S&P 500 slipped 60.66 points, or 5.74%, to 996.23. The Nasdaq composite index lost 108.08 points, or 5.80%, to 1,754.88.

Source: MoneyControl