Sensex plunges over 300 pts to 6-week low; IT stocks gain

Mumbai, May 26 (PTI) The stock market fell for third day in a row as benchmark Sensex today lost over 300 points on heavy selling in financial, metal and realty stocks, even as IT stocks bucked the trend with robust buying interest. The BSE's 30-share barometer index dropped 301.
14 points to close at 16,348.50 points, its lowest level in about six weeks.
It touched an intra-day low of 16,300.88 points, marking a fall of about 350 points from its previous close of 16,649.
64 points. While gains in IT blue-chips such as Infosys, Satyam and TCS as well as telecom major Bharti, which rose after pulling out from multi-billion dollar merger deal with South Africa's MTN, limited the day's fall in the Sensex to 1.
81 per cent, the selling pressure was more acute in mid-cap and small-cap stocks. Both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices lost more than two per cent each.
BSE IT index was the only one among sectoral indices to close in the positive territory, while indices for real estate, power, FMCG, consumer durables, PSU, metal, capital goods and banking sectors all fell between 2-3.6 per cent.
The losses were relatively smaller in auto and oil and gas indices, which fell by 1.9 per cent and 1.
4 per cent each. Jaiprakash Associate was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, followed by Ambuja Cement, BHEL and Reliance Communications.
All these stocks lost over five per cent each. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Com lost as investors feared that its intended deal with MTN would weigh down on the company's balance sheet, more so as Bharti has already pulled out of any such deal with the South African firm after holding the exploratory talks.
Besides, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Maruti, ITC, Grasim and Hindalco also lost between 3-5 per cent. PTI.