Sensex back in red, slips 109 points to hit fresh 19 month low

Mumbai: Equities again slipped after taking a day's breather as the BSE Sensex dropped by 109 points to end at a fresh 19-month low of 24,825.04, tracking a weak trend in other Asian markets on renewed China's growth concerns. The benchmark index extended the last week's steepest loss in four years as sentiment was hit after another round of tepid data added to the concerns over China's economy.

Moreover, investors traded with caution ahead of the release of TCS' quarterly numbers tomorrow. Logging its fifth loss in six sessions, the BSE index settled 109.29 points or 0.44 per cent lower at 24,825.04. The index had risen 82.50 points to log a relief rally on Friday. The 50-issue NSE ended at 7,563.85, down 37.50 points or 0.49 per cent. M&M took the biggest knock as it plunged 3.40 per cent followed by Wipro 3.27 per cent.

Adani Ports (3.13 per cent), BHEL (2.57 per cent), Dr Reddy's (2.56 per cent), SBI (2.23 per cent), ICICI Bank (2.22 per cent), Cipla (1.96 per cent) and TCS (1.43 per cent). Other prominent losers included Coal India, Sun Pharma, ONGC, HDFC, GAIL, Lupin, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and L&T. From the gainers pack, RIL surged the most by climbing 2.69 per cent, Tata Motors rose 2.04 per cent and Maruti Suzuki perked up by 1.51 per cent. Sector-wise, the BSE healthcare index fell the most by 1.37 per cent followed by IT 1.10 per cent, teck 1.06 per cent, PSU 0.98 per cent and banking 0.79 per cent.

Among the 30-Sensex constituents, 22 ended lower, while 8 finished in the positive zone. The mid-cap index also ended in the negative zone by falling 0.95 per cent while the small-cap shed 0.47 per cent. In the Asian region, Shanghai Composite Index plunged 5.33 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2.76 per cent while Japan's financial markets remained closed. European markets, however, were higher in their early trades.