Sensex crashes nearly 500 pts; realty index hits 52-week low as Unitech falls 41%

Equity markets plunged deeper into the red and the benchmark Sensex crashed nearly 500 points in noon trades, as investors fled from realty, consumer durables and auto stocks amid worries the weak monsoon forecast could spell further trouble for these sectors and hurt the overall sentiment, said market analysts. While the broad market sentiment continued to remain weak, real estate shares were the worst hit with the BSE Realty Index crashing nearly 10 percent to hit a 52-week low at 1,348.78. At 12.30 pm, the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex was down 387.58 points, or 1.4 percent, at 26,800.80. Earlier, the index had plunged 490 points to touch a low of 26,698.26 before trimming some losses thereafter. On May 12, the Sensex had last slipped below the 27,000 level. The broader 50-share CNX Nifty was at 8,130.05, down 106.40 points or 1.3 percent. [caption id=“attachment_2276856” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI[/caption] The market breadth was extremely negative, with 2,063 stocks declining against 376 advances on the BSE. “There is no major trigger in the near term horizon for the market. Even the earnings were below expectation. With yesterday’s weak monsoon forecast, investors have taken the opportunity to reduce their exposure. I would say this correction is unwarranted. This is a good chance for investors to enter the market,” said Deena Mehta, managing director, Asit C Mehta Investments and Intermediates. Realty shares came under severe hammering on concerns that a pause in rate cuts by the RBI going ahead could hurt sales and drive away potential home buyers. Among the laggards in real estate stocks, Unitech crashed 41 percent to Rs 7.92, HDIL plunged 13 percent to Rs 90.50, Indiabulls Real Estate slumped 10.2 percent to Rs 49.45 and DLF was down 4.9 percent at Rs 107.60. Shares of FMCG major Nestle India continued to reel under weak sentiment, with the stock trading 10 percent lower at Rs 6,131 on worries the raging controversy over the quality of its noodles brand Maggi could impact the company’s performance in the near term. Several frontline stocks faltered under relentless selling pressure. Shares of ITC fell 5.2 percent to Rs 302.25, Tata Motors declined 4.4 percent to Rs 446.70, Vedanta Ltd slipped 3.4 percent to Rs 188.10 and ICICI Bank was down 3.3 percent at Rs 294.60. Other bluechips such as SBI, Tata Power, BHEL, Hindustan Unilever and Sun Pharma were down 1.8-3 percent. Amidst the steep fall, frontline stocks bucked the downtrend with steady gains. Shares of Infosys gained 0.8 percent to Rs 2,025.60, TCS rose 0.7 percent to Rs 2,619.50 and Wipro was up 0.2 percent at Rs 549.50.