Sensex sheds 123 points in late morning trade

After a two-day rally, the stock market on Friday turned negative, in line with weak global cues, with the benchmark Sensex shedding 123 points in late morning trade, amid continued short-covering in derivative segment.

Global markets turned negative due to continued unfolding of subprime mortgage crisis.

The Swiss banking giant and Europe's worst-hit bank by the US subprime mortgage crisis, UBS AG, offered a bleak outlook for 2008 as it confirmed more than 18 billion dollars write-downs.

Concerns about the US economy and the widening impact of credit crunch took a toll on Wall Street yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy will continue to grow, although at a slower pace than in recent years.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index was quoted at 17,643.46 at 10.30 am, down 123.17 points from previous close of 17,766.63. It touched a low of 17,445.05 in early trade.

The National Stock Exchange's S&P CNX Nifty also dropped by 12.65 points to 5,189.25 at 10.35 am from last close of 5,202.