BSE Sensex tumbles ahead of F&O expiry

Markets swung into weakness for the second day as the Sensex on Wednesday closed just above 30,300 and the Nifty gave up control of 9,400 with no let-up in selling by foreign investors ahead of the derivatives expiry.

Global leads turned negative, giving investors jitters. While Moody's sovereign credit downgrade of China stoked fears about the lingering impact of the global slowdown, Tuesday's concert attack in the UK kept sentiment cloudy.

"The imminent release of the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's most recent meeting put investors on edge and injected a note of caution in the markets," said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager – Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

May futures and options contracts are set to expire tomorrow, which made participants wait and watch.

The 30-share Sensex ended lower by 63.61 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 30,301.64. The barometer had lost 205.72 points in the previous session.

The 50-share NSE Nifty regained the key 9,400mark for some time, but failed to stay put and closed the day down 25.60 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 9,360.55. The explosive border with Pakistan added to the concerns after the Indian Army carried out fire assaults across the Line of Control (LoC), traders said.

Mid-cap and small-cap stocks moved in tandem with the benchmark indices. The BSE capital goods index bled the most, down 2.62 per cent, followed by metal (2.23 per cent), healthcare (1.94 per cent) and realty (1.87 per cent). Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been net sellers in the past five straight sessions and sold shares worth a net Rs 400.53 crore yesterday, according to provisional data.