Sustained offloading by foreign institutional investors amid a surge in Chinese stocks pulled the benchmark Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange down by nearly 70 points, extending losses to the four day in a row.
Marketmen said investor sentiment was weighed down by factors like
declining exports and anticipation of slowdown in manufacturing in the wake of weak monsoon.
Even positive cues from global markets failed to lift the sentiment, they said.
Fluctuating erratically throughout, the 30-share index settled the day at 15,398.33, a fall of 69.13 points, or 0.45 per cent, from its last close.
According to provisional SEBI data, FIIs sold shares worth Rs. 963 crore in equity. Bucking the trend, small cap and mid cap shares attracted buying interest.
Brokers said inflation rising to minus 0.21 per cent for week ended on August 22 was also a factor. Fears of inflation going up beyond comfort level is a cause of concern, they said.
Other Asian indices such as the Hang Seng gained 1.23 per cent and Strait Times 1.11 per cent while Nikkei eased by 0.64 per cent. European markets were flat this afternoon.
Shanghai Composite index soared 4.8 per cent on reports that Chinese market regulator Securities Regulatory Commission would promote stable and healthy developments in the market.