In a complete reversal of the trend, the market lost ground in late trade from an initial surge to a record high. The decline was across the board. Consumer durables, FMCG and metal stocks were the worst hit. ICICI Bank survived the fall.

The market breadth, which was positive in early trade, turned weak in early afternoon trade. 28 out of 30 stocks from the Sensex pack were in red. Asian markets, which opened before Indian markets, were mostly in the red. European markets, which opened after Indian markets, were mixed.

Policy meetings of European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) are due later today. Analysts expect ECB to hold interest rates steady at 4% but see the BoE cutting rates due to weak consumption that has sparked fears of a slowdown in the economy. The next Fed rates decision is due on 30 January 2008. Fed is expected to cut rates by at least 25 basis points.

The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 287.70 points or 1.38% at 20582.08. Sensex touched a low of 20,530.07 at the fag end of the trading session. At days low, Sensex shed 339.71. Sensex hit a high of 21,206.77 in mid-morning trade, a record high. At days high, Sensex gained 336.99.

The broader CNX S&P; Nifty lost 115.05 points or 1.83% to 6156.95.

The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 3.37% to 9,440.45. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 3.82% to 12,858.63. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was extremely weak on BSE with 351 shares advancing as compared to 2544 that declined. 17 remained unchanged.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 9068 crore compared to Wednesday (9 January 2008)'s Rs 9669 crore.

Nifty January 2008 futures were at 6156.45, a discount of 0.50 points as compared to spot closing of 6156.95.

The NSE's futures & options (F&O;) segment turnover was Rs 78346.87 crore, which was higher than Rs 74171.29 crore on Wednesday, 9 January 2008.

Indias largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries declined 0.16% to Rs 3027.05.

India's top commercial vehicles maker by sales Tata Motors lost 2.78% to Rs 749, off sessions high of Rs 802.30. Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Motors, unveiled the People's (Rs 1 lakh) car today. The car has been christened Nano. The car would be commercially launched in the second half of 2008 and would be produced at Tata Motors' Singur plant in West Bengal. The car is powered by a 624 cc, 30 bhp engine. The car will deliver about 20 kilometer per litre (kpl) mileage. The company plans to launch the car in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia, as well.

Indias largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki slipped 1.95% to Rs 907.65.

India's largest engineering and construction firm by revenue Larsen & Toubro fell 2.83% to Rs 4207.20, after the company said it had bagged orders worth Rs 3500 crore for construction of information technology parks, hotels and malls.

Indias second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies lost 3.22% to Rs 1602.20. The company unveils Q3 December 2007 results tomorrow.

NTPC fell 3.99% to Rs 266.10, Reliance Energy shed 3.91% to Rs 2465.10, ACC fell 3.25% to Rs 938.55 and Reliance Communications declined 3.02% to Rs 796

The BSE Bankex rose 0.03% to 12,044.81. It outperformed the Sensex. Indias largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank jumped 3.53% to Rs 1356.70 on reports the bank will list at least 4 arms starting with ICICI Securities in next 6 months though board is yet to decide on securities arm listing.

Federal Bank rose 1.15% to Rs 342.15. Centurion Bank of Punjab slipped 5.54% to Rs 65.65, Indian Overseas Bank skid 4.82% to Rs 192.65, Andhra Bank shed 4.81% to Rs 112.85, Canara Bank fell 4.21% to Rs 365.50 and Bank of Baroda fell 4.09% to Rs 443.65.

The BSE FMCG index fell 3.64% to 2,400.04. It underperformed the Sensex. ITC slipped 3.62% to Rs 219.70, Hindustan Unilever shed 2.16% to Rs 228.80, REI Agro fell 5% to Rs 923.45 and United Spirits gave away 5.68% to Rs 1972.90.

The BSE Consumer Durables index declined 3.76% to 6347.79. It underperformed the Sensex. Titan Industries shed 6.56% to Rs 1548, Lloyd Electric shed 5.60% to Rs 179.55, Videocon Industries slipped 5% to Rs 665.55, and Blue Star fell 1.81% to Rs 503.90.

The BSE Metal index fell 3.36% to 18,770.14. It underperformed the Sensex. Jindal Stainless slipped 5.14% to Rs 207.70, Hindalco Industries shed 4.78% to Rs 202.35, Steel Authority of India skid 4.78% to Rs 248.75, Tata Steel fell 4.09% to Rs 854.10 and National Aluminum Company (Nalco) fell 4.03% to Rs 478.55.

Reliance Natural Resources clocked the highest turnover of Rs 719.74 crore on BSE. Reliance Petroleum (Rs 325.03 crore), Reliance Energy (Rs 319.54 crore), Reliance Communications (Rs 278.65 crore) and Reliance Capital (Rs 243.05 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

Reliance Natural Resources registered highest volumes of 3.26 crore shares on BSE. Ispat Industries (1.81 crore shares), Reliance Petroleum (1.45 crore shares), Himachal Futuristic Communications (1.18 crore shares) and Alka India (1.05 crore shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

In Europe, UK's FTSE 100 Index was down 0.02%. Germany's DAX Index was up 0.01%.

Asian shares fell on worries about global growth after Goldman Sachs forecast a US recession this year. Japan's Nikkei was down 1.45%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.39%, South Korea's Seoul Composite was down 1.07% and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted index was down 0.34%. However, China's Sanghai Composite was up 0.38%.

US stocks rose on Wednesday, 9 January 2008, and the Nasdaq broke an eight-day losing streak, as talk of recession pushed investors into health care and other defensive sectors seen as resistant to a slowdown. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 146.24 points, or 1.16%, at 12,735.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 18.94 points, or 1.36%, at 1,409.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 34.04 points, or 1.39%, at 2,474.55.

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