Sensex down by 238 points

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) yesterday revised the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for January from 6.8 per cent to 1.14 per cent because of wrong calculation of sugar production during the month. Terming sharp revision in the industrial production data as "totally baffling", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he has asked the authorities concerned to look into the issue, which mainly affected the market sentiment.

IT major Infosys Tech today posted a 2.4 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit for Q4 FY12 and also proected below-average growth for this fiscal by forecasting tough times ahead for the entire sector. As a result, it virtually collapsed by 12.61 per cent, alone extracting more than 200 points from the sensex. Country`s first and third major software exporters, TCS and Wipro also dipped by 5.47 per cent and 4.10 per cent. The BSE-IT and BSE-Teck indices lost by 8.76 per cent and 6.9 per cent and were the two top losers from sectoral indices.

The Bombay Stock Exchange initially touched a high of 17,398.22, but fell back sharply after mid-session to settle at two-week low of 17,094.51, a fall of 238.11 points or 1.37 per cent. The NSE broader 50-issue Nifty also tumbled by 69.40 points or 1.32 per cent to 5,207.45. Meanwhile, brokers said drastic downward revision of industrial growth figures for January has disappointed investors.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) yesterday revised the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for January from 6.8 per cent to 1.14 per cent because of wrong calculation of sugar production during the month. Terming sharp revision in the industrial production data as "totally baffling", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he has asked the authorities concerned to look into the issue, which mainly affected the market sentiment.

Asian stocks, meanwhile, closed with gains and key indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan rose by up to 1.84 per cent. However, France`s index CAC, Germany`s DAX and UK`s FTSE were down by up to 1.04 per cent in the afteroon. Meanwhile, FIIs bought Indian shares worth Rs 135.98 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Overall, 17 of the 30 Sensex scrips closed in the red while others finished in the green.