Black Tuesday in offing; 550 points lost

India’s premier index, the Sensex, tumbled over 575 points in, what can be referred to as an absolute bloodbath, on the Bombay bourse. Unprecedented damage across the board was evident from the market-breadth; only 332 shares rose while a huge, huge 2,223 scrips declined.

The frenzied selling is attributed to margin-selling, which has become an add-on feature of steep index declines. The BSE Sensex had tumbled 400 points on Monday, its 10th biggest ever.The Sensex shaved off around 200 points, effortlessly, after falling below the 13,000 mark.

At 14:56 IST the 30-shares BSE Sensex was down 570 points (4.26%), at 12,829.65. It had witnessed high volatility in the opening session of trade. After opening flat at 13,413.61, it had declined sharply. The BSE benchmark also slipped to a fresh intra-day low of 12,801.65, as selling continued following a sharp 400-point plunge on Monday (11 December). Its high for the day was 13,492.21.

Renewed selling gripped the bourses after latest data showed a lower-than-expected 6.2% growth in industrial production for October 2006.All 30 constituents of the BSE Sensex had fallen prey to the carnage.