The market lost further ground in mid-afternoon trade after it declined below 19,000 mark in the mid-morning trade. Reliance Industries declined. ICICI Bank, NTPC and Maruti Suzuki India fell sharply and were major losers from Sensex pack. All the BSE sectoral indices were in red. Capital goods, banking, power, auto and metal stocks were major losers. Market breadth was weak. Profit taking was witnessed across the board as mid-cap and small-cap counters faltered. Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were trading in red. European markets, which opened after Indian market, were weak in early trade.

Data showing heavy FII sales on Tuesday, 20 November 2007, weighed on the market sentiment. The sentiment was also impacted by media reports that the government is considering raising the securities transaction tax (STT), with one of the options being increasing the ceiling to 0.5%. Finance minister P Chidambaram could move an appropriate amendment to the Finance Act, 2007, in Parliament in the current winter session for raising STT, reports suggest.

At 14:23 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 556.29 points or 2.91% at 18,724.04. At days low of 18,683.94 Sensex had lost 596.86 points.

The broader CNX S&P; Nifty was down 169.05 points or 2.92% at 5,611.85.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 4,201.14 crore in the futures & options segment on Tuesday, 20 November 2007. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 2,897.67 crore and bought index options worth Rs 35.34 crore. They were net sellers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 1,334.46 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 4.36 crore.

As per provisional data, FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 1800.68 crore in the cash market on Tuesday, 20 November 2007. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 463.95 crore on Tuesday, 20 November 2007.

The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 722 stocks advanced, while 2,037 stocks declined and 33 stocks were unchanged. 29 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in the red.

The BSE Mid-Cap index declined 2.83% to 8,381.58. The BSE Small-Cap index declined 2.03% to 10,474.30.

ACC was down 0.89% to Rs 1,075, off session's low of Rs 1,050. The company said today, 21 November 2007, it had sold surplus assets, including land in Haryana state, for Rs 205 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.18% to Rs 962.30 and was the only gainer from Sensex pack.

Index heavyweight and Indias largest private sector firm by market capitalisation Reliance Industries declined 1.93% to Rs 2,733. The stock came sharply off session's high of Rs 2,800. As per reports, Reliance Industries (RIL) has signed production sharing agreement (PSA) for two exploratory blocks 34 and 37 located in the Jeza basin of eastern Yemen, taking its total number of overseas exploratory blocks to nine.

FMCG major ITC declined 3.39% to Rs 188.70. As per reports it is preparing for a series of acquisitions to strengthen its food business, the fastest growing segment among the new businesses under its umbrella.

Banking majors declined sharply. ICICI Bank (down 6.62% to Rs 1,090), HDFC Bank (down 3.52% to Rs 1,575), and State Bank of India (down 3.4% to Rs 2,204) edged lower.

Power stocks plunged. NTPC (down 5.95% to Rs 244.50), Tata Power Company (down 5.11% to Rs 1,155), Reliance Energy (down 3.37% to Rs 1,729.90), PowerGrid Corporation of India (down 5.15% to Rs 150.75) edged lower.

Capital goods stocks declined. Larsen & Toubro slipped 4.88% to Rs 4,124.70 on BSE, after the company said on Tuesday 20 November 2007 it had signed an agreement with Raytheon for the US defence major's multi-role fighter jet programme, besides co-operation in defence projects. Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 5.47% to Rs 2,509) and Suzlon Energy (down 5.94% to Rs 1,919.90) were other losers from capital goods sector.

Metal stocks declined for the second day in a row due to falling global metal prices. Sterlite Industries (down 5.32% to Rs 908.90), Hindalco Industries (down 3.32% to Rs 187.70), Steel Authority of India (down 4% to Rs 253.05) edged lower.

Tata Steel declined 4.08% to Rs 824.50. As per reports, Riversdale Mining, Tata Steels partner in Australia, has discovered around 1.2 billion tonnes of coal at northern Benga in the Moatize district of Mozambique which happens to be the worlds largest unexplored coal province.

Indias largest real estate developer by market capitalisation DLF declined 3.86% to Rs 872. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 3.17% to Rs 640.25) and Unitech (down 3.6% to Rs 366.50) edged lower.

India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India declined 4.64% to Rs 963.40.

Religare Enterprises was hovering at Rs 561.70, a premium of 204.51% over IPO price of Rs 185. It was listed on the bourses today, 21 November 2007.

Infrastructure Development Finance Company declined 2.41% to Rs 196.10 on reports that its wholly owned subsidiary IDFC Private Equity Company is planning third infrastructure fund targeting a little over $500 million.

Chambal Fertiliser & Chemicals declined 9.69% to Rs 67.55 and was the top loser from A group of shares. Dena Bank (down 8.33% to Rs 79.20), Escorts (down 7.98% to Rs 148.80), FDC (down 7.46% to Rs 33.50) and Neyveli Lignite (down 7.37% to Rs 193) were other major losers from A group.

Among side counters, Inhouse Productions (up 72.81% to Rs 22.05), Orient information Technology (up 20% to Rs 19.60), Venkat Pharma (up 20% to Rs 15.81), Dharani Sugars (up 19.63% to Rs 22.85) and Elder Healthcare (up 14.71% to Rs 42.50) edged higher.

Market Creators (down 14.67% to Rs 18.50), Gangotri Iron & Steel Company (down 11.41% to Rs 36.50) and Ras Resorts (down 11.25% to Rs 35.50) edged lower.

European markets opened weak. Frances CAC 40 (down 1.63% to 5,416.96), Germanys DAX (down 1.13% to 7,544.39) and UKs FTSE 100 (down 1.44% to 6,136.90) edged lower.

Asian markets fell today after the Federal Reserve said US economic growth would probably slow in 2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 4.15% at 26,618.19), Japan's Nikkei (down 2.46% at 14,837.66), Singapore's Straits Times (down 2.55% at 3,350.45), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (down 2.27% at 8,484.11), South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 3.49% at 1,806.99), edged lower.

US markets recovered in late trade on speculation of possible rate cut on 11 December 2007. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 51.70 points, or 0.04%, to 13,010.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 6.43 points, or 0.45%, to 1,439.70, and the Nasdaq Composite index surged 3.43 points, or 0.13%, to 2,596.81.

Oil prices resumed their march toward $100 a barrel. Light crude for January delivery surged $3.39 to settle at a record $98.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Market posted losses for fourth straight day on Tuesday, 20 November 2007. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 352.56 points or 1.8% at 19,280.80. The S&P; CNX Nifty ended down 126.75 points or 2.15% to 5,780.90 on that day.

A large number of foreign investors want to register in India to participate in the booming stock market, Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chief M. Damodaran, told a business conference on Wednesday, 21 November 2007.

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