UNI

Mumbai, Apr 3: The Sensex on Monday crashed by a whopping 616.73 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange to settle at 12,455.37 following Reserve Bank of India's (RBIs) decision to hike the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points and the repo rate by 25 basis points.

The broader 50-stock Nifty Index also tanked by 187.95 points on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and ended in the red at 3633.60 from its previous close of 3821.55 points.

''Index heavyweights suffered a sharp fall. Banking, auto, construction, steel, and real estate shares were at the forefront of the decline. However, sugar shares stood tall among the ruins. The Sensex hit a low of 12,425.52 and a high of 12,811.93 during intra-day trading,'' brokers said.

The market-breadth was weak. Against 1,772 shares declining on BSE, just 700 rose. A total of 71 scrips did not change. Losers outpaced gainers by a ratio of 2.53:1. The BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 2910.51 crore, market analysts said.

Asian stocks edged higher. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong were up by 0.04 per cent, South Korea (0.48 per cent), Singapore (0.47 per cent), China (up 2.15 per cent) and Taiwan (0.01 per cent) were in the green. However, Japan was down 1.50 per cent.

US stocks ended with little change last week as word that the US had imposed duties on some Chinese imports offset strong economic news and a pullback in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 5.60 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 12,354.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.67 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 1,420.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 3.76 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 2,421.64.

Oil prices eased but held just under USD 66 a barrel following a near two-week rally on tensions over Iran's capture of UK military personnel and worries over US gasoline supplies ahead of the summer driving season.

The stock exchanges have clubbed last week's settlement trading with Monday's trading. Therefore, clients have been advised not to sell shares on Monday, which they had bought on Friday, brokers cautioned.

ICICI Bank and Yes Bank, both private banks, took the lead in raising lending rates following the RBI move. Private banking major ICICI Bank lost 5.70 points to Rs 804.50, on raising the benchmark-lending rate by 100 basis points to 15.75 per cent, effective from 1st April 2007. ICICI Bank also raised its floating reference rate for consumer loans, including home loans, by 100 basis points to 12.75 per cent with immediate effect.

Yes Bank (1.99 per cent to Rs 137.90) also raised its prime lending rate (PLR) by 75 basis points, to 14.75 per cent.

The Bankex lost 389.42 points, to 6,152.59. The slide was led by Oriental Bank (down 10.02 per cent to Rs 168.75) followed by Punjab National Bank (down 9.35 per cent to Rs 427.55), Bank of India (down 8.16 per cent to Rs 154.10), Union Bank (down 7.51 per cent to Rs 96.10), and Indian Overseas (down 6.80 per cent to Rs 96) in that order.

Interest rate sensitive auto shares were also hit on concerns that a rise in lending rates will rein in demand. Adding to the woes of auto scrips, were sluggish-to-weak March 2007 sales report by Bajaj Auto (down 5.15 per cent to Rs 2300.60), Hero Honda (down 6.68 per cent to Rs 639.55) and TVS Motors (down 4.45 per cent to Rs 56.95).

Tata Motors shed 8.04 per cent to Rs 669.25, and Maruti Udyog (MUL) dropped 8.09 per cent to Rs 753.40. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) dropped 8.31 per cent to Rs 715.30.

While Hero Honda's sales in March 2007 rose just 2 per cent from a year ago, Bajaj Auto and TVS' sales were down 9 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

Interest rate hike also caused a realty scrips to cascade lower.

Indiabulls Real Estate, Parsvnath Developers, Sobha Developers, Anant Raj Industries, Unitech, and Mahindra Gesco Developers were the major losers Monday.

Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 4.01 per cent to Rs 1313.50, in an overall weak market. Andrew Yule & Company soared 19.91 per cent to Rs 26.80. HDFC dropped 5.77 per cent to Rs 1432.70, on concerns about a slowdown in demand for loans after the housing finance behemoth raised its key lending rates 75 bps to 14.25 per cent.

Tata Power Company lost 2.62 per cent to Rs 496.10.

Sugar mills stood out in the weak market. Several sugar producers were up 2 - 3.77 per cent, in an otherwise weak market, as buying continued in such counters. Among those to surge were Bajaj Hindusthan (up 1.36 per cent to Rs 197.60), Sakthi Sugars (up 2.53 per cent to Rs 103.35), Balrampur Chini Mills (up 2.05 per cent to Rs 67.25) and Dharmpur Sugar (up 2.56 per cent to Rs 76.20).

Godawari Power & Ispat lost 3.11 per cent to Rs 105.80.

India Infoline rose 3.43 per cent to Rs 345, spurred by block deals in the counter. Nearly 5 lac shares changed hands at Rs 350 - Rs 351 each.

Tata Steel lost 4.52 to Rs 42.90.

Mobile services firm, Bharti Airtel (slipped 2.91 per cent to Rs 741), has lowered international tariffs by up to 11% for its mobile customers from 1 April 2007.

Software firm Core Projects & Technologies (down 0.16 per cent to Rs 611).

Great Eastern Shipping Company (down 0.42 per cent to Rs 202) has delivered its Suezmax crude carrier 'Jag Laadki', to buyers.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 7.01 per cent to Rs 725.50) said that it's vehicle sales in March rose to 20,623 units from 16,400 units a year earlier.

Shares of sugar firm Mawana Sugars (up 8.32 per cent to Rs 40.40) and SIEL (up 3.81 per cent to Rs 27.25), currently under the process of merger, were up after Mawana's board approved reducing the paid-up capital of the merged entity to Rs 24.64 crore from the earlier planned Rs 73.95 crore.