The Sensex lost more than 700 points on Wednesday (Jan 07) following some startling revelations made by B. Ramalinga Raju, the Chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

It came as disgusting news to market that Raju quitted after confession of fraud in company’s books.

All sectorial indices hammered badly and marked their closures on a negative note. Realty, oil & gas and IT were among the major losers, which fell 16.95%, 9.35% and 9.32% respectively.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex belled the day with a gain of 89.03 points, at 10,424.96 on Wednesday. After shrugging off its early gains, Sensex lost more than 400 points at noon to fell below 10,000-mark on account of heavy selling by funds after reports of Satyam Computer Services chairman quitting.

Second rung stocks also saw huge selling pressure. BSE Midcap and Smallcap index lost 7.17% and 6.29% respectively.

On the global front, Asian stock markets closed on a mixed note, after US president-elect Barack Obama pointed that stimulus spending will continue for years, boosting confidence that consumption in the world`s biggest economic system will bounce back. The region’s markets trimmed gains after Satyam said it falsified its books, prompting a record 82% share drop.

Finally, the Sensex closed at 9.586.88, down 749.05 points, after hitting a high of 10,469.72 and a low of 9,510.15. In contrast, the broad-based NSE Nifty lost 192.40 points at 2,920.40 after touching a high of 3,147.20 and a low of 2,888.20.

While commenting on the daily market performance, Mr. P. K. Agarwal, president - research, Bonanza Portfolio, stated that the Indian markets made positive start on Wednesday, and Nifty touched a high of 3147.

But after the news of misconduct at Satyam came out, there was a free fall in Satyam stock, which affected Nifty.

Mr. Agarwal  added, “Nifty went to low of 2,888 and closed near the low at 2,920. There was all round sell-off in Banking, Capital Goods, Metals, etc. Major losers included Satyam, Suzlon, Unitech, R-Com, DLF. Some buying was seen in Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti, Wipro, Grasim etc. Nifty can face resistance at 3,050 levels. On down side support is at 2,825.”