Sensex down nearly 400 pts on heavy selling @ 12:59 hrs 29th Feb 2008

Sensex down nearly 400 pts on heavy selling @ 12:59 hrs

 

The market has plunged deeper into the red with stocks from information technology, banking, capital goods, realty, power, oil and metal sectors declining sharply on severe selling pressure. Auto and FMCG stocks have managed to buck the trend.

 

Several midcap and smallcap stocks too have plunged into the red now.

The Sensex, which crashed to 17,337.46, has recovered to 17,428.45, but still remains deep down in the red with a whopping loss of 396.03 points or 1.92%. The Nifty is down with a huge loss of 1.88% or 99.60 points despite having recovered to 5185.50 from a low of 5130.60.

 

Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto have posted strong gains. Tata Power, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, ITC and Reliance Petroleum have also moved up.

 

Suzlon Energy, ABB, Nalco, BPCL, Siemens, Tata Chemicals, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Ambuja Cements, GAIL India, Wipro, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries, Infosys Technologies, ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Communications, Zee Entertainment, Idea Cellular, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ACC, Grasim Industries, BHEL, SAIL and State Bank of India are down in the red with sharp losses.

 

The proposal to allocate Rs 12,966 cr to National Highway Plan in financial year 2008 - 2009 is expected to keep the infrastructure sector buoyant.

The peak rate of customs duty has been left unchanged. Reduction in customs duty on project imports and specified projects in power sectors. Duty on steel scrap cut down to nil from 5%.

 

Duty on bulk drugs and speicified life saving drugs reduced. Duty on vitamin mixtures reduced. Duty on milk reduced. Custom duty on crude reduced. Few IT, hardware components have been exempted from customs duty. Customs on steel melting, aluminium melting cut to 0% vs 5%

 

Excise duty on 2-wheeler, small cars cut from 16% to 12%. Shares of leading automobile manufacturers have come off their lower levels and a few of them have even made it to the positive territory now.

 

Excise duty on buses & chassis cut from 16% to 12%. Customs duty on crude/unrefined sulphur cut to 2% vs 5%. Excise duty on some paper types cut to 10% from 12%.

Corporate tax and surcharge on corporate tax have been left unchanged. Personal income tax slab has been hiked to Rs 1.5 lakh. For women, it shall be Rs 1.8 lakh.

 

Five year holiday of income tax for hotels constructed during April 2008 to March 2013 in Unesco specified heritage centres. The move is likely to aid the hospitality sector.

 

Commodities transaction tax levied on the lines of STT on securties and options trade. Short term capital gains tax hiked to 15%.