Sensex falls by 78 points, hits 2004 low

The free fall of Sensex is continuing. Fresh selling in the blue-chips dragged the BSE Sensex to its lowest closing level of 2004 on Monday ...

The free fall of Sensex is continuing. Fresh selling in the blue-chips dragged the BSE Sensex to its lowest closing level of 2004 on Monday amid the year-end considerations and imminent expiry of futures contracts.

After moving in an intra-day range of nearly 100 points, the BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 78.04 points, or 1.43%, to 5,365.49. The benchmark index, had shed 257 points last week. The NSE S & P CNX Nifty Index shed 40.10 points, or 2.32%, to end at 1,685.

Says stock dealer Pawan Dharnidharka, ‘‘The market traded weak amid the year-end concerns and the imminent expiry of the March series futures contracts. The March series futures contracts expire next week on Thursday (March 25). The market normally turns volatile towards the expiry of the futures contracts as there is rush to unwind short positions in the derivatives market.’’

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With this fall, the Sensex has lost 585.63 points from its recent high of 5,951.03 touched on March 8, 2003. From its all-time high of 6,249.60 touched on January 9, the benchmark index has lost 884.20 points, or 14.14%. For the year 2004, the Sensex has lost 473.56 points so far.

Despite sharp fall in the share prices, no fresh support was seen forthcoming. Investors booked short-term losses in stocks in order to reduce tax liabilities for the year. While investors are unwinding long positions, brokers are advising investors against taking fresh positions at present on account of the approaching year-end.