Shares held by Lehman Brothers in India tumble

Fears of more foreign fund withdrawals weighed heavily on the Indian bourses after US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 757.80 points. Shares of some of the holdings of Lehman Brothers in India as a foreign institutional investor including its holdings in sub-accounts, tumbled.

The financial upheaval also involved other US institutions. Bank of America has agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co for $50 billion in an all-stock deal that will give the US bank the world's largest brokerage.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) plunged to 52-week low below Rs 1850. IT and real estate stocks suffered severe setback.
All the 30-members from the Sensex pack suffered losses.

Asian markets were trading lower today, 15 September 2008. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan and Singapore fell 4.09% and 2.90%.
Most major Asian equity markets were closed for public holidays.

At 12:21 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 757.80 points or 5.41% to 13,243.75. The Sensex opened with a huge downward gap of
408.76 at 13,592.05. At the day's low of 13,150.81 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex lost 850 points.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 242.40 points or 5.73% to 3,986.25 after sliding to a low of 3955.40

Shares of some of the holdings of Lehman Brothers in India as a foreign institutional investor including its holdings in sub-accounts, tumbled. GTC Industries (down 13.32% to Rs 108), KPIT Cummins Infosystems (down 11.74% to Rs 49.60), Orbit Corporation (down 15.05% to Rs 234), Development Credit Bank (down 10.60% to Rs 43), IVRCL Infrastructures (down 9.09% to Rs 252), Edelweiss Capital (down 7.35% to Rs 480.50), Moser Bear (down 9.52% to Rs 96.45), Triveni Engineering (down 9.25% to Rs 78.45), NIIT (down 10.87% to Rs 70.90), plunged.

The market breadth was extremely weak with over to 10 losers for every gainer. On BSE, 2198 shares declined as compared to just 203 that rose. 38 remained unchanged.

All the 30-members from the Sensex pack suffered losses.

India's largest private sector power generation company in terms of sales, Reliance Infrastructure tumbled 11.71% to Rs 820.50 on 8.27 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

IT pivotals tumbled due to heavy selling on reports that hedging positions taken by the companies are improper with rupee falling to two-year low against the dollar. Satyam Computer Services (down 10.21% to Rs 365.05), Wipro (down 6.75% to Rs 391.50), Infosys (down 6.18% to Rs 1542.50), TCS (down 6.89% to Rs 752.50), edged lower.

India's largest private sector firm in terms of market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries slumped 4.25% to Rs 1849.25 on 8.55 lakh shares. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs
1833.25 in early trade. The stock slumped on reports the government may impose a special oil tax on the domestic crude oil production under the New Exploration Licensing Policy.

Tata Power (down 2.76% to Rs 975), ITC (down 3.29% to Rs 185), and Bharti Airtel (down 2.70% to Rs 757.50), though in the red, they outperformed the Sensex

Among side counters, Raj Television Network (down 17.83% to Rs 94), Epic Energy (down 16.93% to Rs 67.95), Purvankara Projects (down 17.28% to Rs 139.50), Saregama India (down 15.39% to Rs 94), Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals (down 14.10% to Rs 56.70), slumped.

US light crude for October 2008 delivery fell $1.52 to $99.66 a barrel today, 15 September 2008 on early signs that Hurricane Ike may have spared key Gulf Coast infrastructure, although traders were cautious on Monday as they awaited status reports on more Texas refineries.

US markets ended mixed on Friday, 12 September 2008, amid uncertainty over the fate of troubled investment bank Lehman Brothers. But shares of natural resource companies and utilities gained as commodity prices rose, offsetting losses among financial and bank shares. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 11.72 points, or 0.10%, to 11,421.99. The S&P 500 index gained 2.65 points, or 0.21%, to 1,251.70, and the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 3.05 points, or 0.14%, 2,261.27.

Back home, heavy selling pressure in pivotals pulled the market sharply lower on Friday, 12 September 2008. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 323.48 points or 2.26% to 14,000.81. and the S&P CNX Nifty was down 61.85 points or 1.44% to 4,228.45, on that day.