Sensex falls another 45 points

The NSE S & P CNX Nifty Index ended 7.60 points lower at 1,808.95, recovering from its day’s low of 1,793.10.

While the mood of the market remained subdued amid political uncertainty, a good part of the weakness was attributed to the expiry of the April futures contracts.

Uncertain of the future political developments, players preferred to liquidate positions in the futures segment.

Metal stocks like Hindalco, Tata Steel and Nalco declined amid concerns that Chinese demand may soften on China’s measures to cool its fast-growing economy, which has benefited global growth but, left unchecked, has the potential to drag it down.

While market recovered from its intra-day lows on short-covering in select blue chips, weakness in blue chips prevented the market from ending with a gain.

From a recent high of 5,979.25 touched on April 23, 2004, the Sensex has already shed 310.82 points on selling pressure. Prior to the fall, the Sensex had risen 654.47 points from a recent low of 5,328.78 on March 23, 2004.

The undertone of the market has turned bearish since the beginning of this week amid the fears of a hung Parliament in the Centre raised by exit poll results.