Indian shares slid 4.07 percent on Monday, led by a sell-off across Asian and European markets on concerns about global economic recovery, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 626.71 points to 14,784.92, its sharpest fall in nearly six weeks. India's markets opened weak and share prices came under pressure in afternoon trade after European markets opened lower.
Dealers took their cue from Wall Street which fell 0.82 percent last Friday after weak consumer confidence figures threw into doubt hopes about an end to the global economic crisis. Sentiment has also been hit by the weak monsoon, which is likely to slow agricultural growth and impact rural spending. "The markets saw big technical reversals. Large-cap stocks were hardest hit, where valuations were looking stretched," said Sonam Udasi, vice-president of Mumbai brokerage BRICS Securities. "We are advising clients not to take up fresh exposure," he said.
Losers led gainers 1,929 to 674 on turnover of 49.56 billion rupees (1.01 billion dollars). DLF fell 30.6 rupees or 7.75 percent to 364.4 and private sector Reliance Infrastructure fell 72.9 rupees or 6.15 percent to 1,112.6. Hindalco fell 7.95 rupees or 7.35 percent to 100.25 and Tata Steel slid 32.5 rupees or 6.82 percent to 437.7 as global metal prices fell. Mahindra and Mahindra declined 41.9 rupees or 5.3 percent to 746.8 on worries about lower agriculture growth. Larsen and Toubro fell 74.3 rupees or five percent to 1,411.9, amid worries about the strength of economic recovery.