Sensex ends 200 pts down on mortgage worries

Mumbai It was a weak day for the markets accompanied by volatility and uncertainty on account of subprime mortgage worries. The markets opened with a gap up of 200 points but slipped in red on weak global cues, swinging by nearly 500 points.

The fall was inline with the Europe meltdown on news that BNP Paribas has freezed three asset backed funds on US subprime losses. BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest bank, halted withdrawals from three investment funds because it can't ``fairly'' value their holdings, as concern over US subprime mortgage losses roils credit markets.

Selling was seen in scrips across sectors. Leading the downtrend were IT, oil gas and FMCG stocks. The broader markets also sild and ended lower.

Sensex was down 207.83 points or 1.36 per cent at 15100.15, and the Nifty down 58.90 points or 1.32 per cent at 4403.20.

About 1181 shares have advanced, 1749 shares declined, and 62 shares are unchanged.

The BSE Midcap Index ended at 6,559.58 down 1.6 per cent. The BSE Smallcap Index ended at 7,964.12 down 1 per cent. The BSE Bankex was down 1.3 per cent at 7,975.48. Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, Allahabad Bank, Federal Bank, SBI moved downwards.

The BSE Capital Goods Index was down 1 per cent at 12,883.72. Crompton Greave, AIA Engineering, Alstom Projects, Gammon India, Punj Lloyd, Jyoti Structure, Reliance Infra, Praj Industries closed lower.

The BSE Health Care Index was down 0.6 per cent at 3,651.28. Apollo Hospital, Cadila Health, Ranbaxy Labs, Glenmark, Aurobindo Pharm closed lower.

The BSE Auto Index closed at 4,769.15 down 1 per cent. Exide Industrie, MICO, Amtek Auto, Tube Investment, Cummins closed higher.

The BSE Metal Index closed at 11,118.87 down 1 per cent. Shree Precoated, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, JSW Steel, Mah Seamless, Jindal Saw closed lower.

The BSE FMCG Index closed at 1,920.03 down 2%. Marico, United Spirits, GlaxoSmith Con, United Brewerie, Colgate closed lower.

BSE Oil and Gas Index closed at 7,891.15 down 2%. Reliance Natura, Essar Oil, GAIL, ONGC ended in red.

The BSE IT Index lost 1.6% at 4,733.85.Mphasis, Financial Tech, I-Flex Solution, Satyam, Infosys closed lower.

The NSE cash turnover was at Rs 11846.62 crore and the NSE F&O turnover was at Rs 55930.24 crore. The BSE cash turnover was Rs 5478.43 crore. Total market wide turnover was at Rs 73255.29 crore.