Markets Close on a Negative Note

The bears tightened their grip on the stock markets on the last day of this trading week and the penultimate session of January. Following on the heels of the 281-points fall on Thursday, the Sensex plunged by an identical 288 points or 1.5 per cent at 18395 and the Nifty slid by 92 points at 5512. The broader had a rougher ride still, with the midcap index ending at 6898, weaker by 2.6 per cent and the small cap index ending at 8546, down 3.5 per cent. We are staring at a dismal monthly closing as the benchmark indices have lost almost 10 per cent since the first day of the year. On the global front, Asian stocks fell after Standard & Poor’s cut Japan's credit rating. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea fell by 0.3 per cent-1.4 per cent. European equities dropped on Friday, pressured by mining shares, with investors staying cautious ahead of the release of US gross domestic product data that is expected to set near-term market direction. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK fell upto 0.6 per cent.