Cricket fever and not war fears loomed on Monday as the markets took a day off. Dealers and brokers shifted their sights from trading terminals to TV sets, choosing to watch the India-Sri Lanka World Cup match.

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex fell for the sixth successive trading day, losing 27.18 points at 3,125.88, its lowest in the past four months.

With this, the index has lost 157.78 points, or 4.8 per cent, since the presentation of the Budget on February 28.

Trading volumes on the BSE dipped to Rs 962.79 crore (Rs 9.627 billion) and to Rs 2,035.66 crore (Rs 20.356 billion) on the National Stock Exchange.

However, Dalal Street was glued to the match and nobody complained. Moreover, the brokers were agitated over the proposed hike in stamp duty by the Maharashtra government.

The volumes in the government securities market also reflected the day's mood. The wholesale debt market segment of the NSE reported volumes of Rs 1,241.27 crore (Rs 12.412 billion) in 151 trades.

On a normal day, the volumes in this segment on the NSE range between Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) and Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) and the number of trades between 300 and 800.

On the day of the Budget, the volumes stood at Rs 5,780 crore (Rs 57.80 billion) in 900 trades.

"There was almost no work after 1.30 pm. We preferred watching Sachin Tendulkar than the quotes. It was a nice break," said a dealer with a foreign bank.

The benchmark 9.81 per cent 2013 gilt opened at Rs 124.50 (6.491 per cent), fell by 20 paise to Rs 124.30 (6.514 per cent) but recovered 39 paise to close at Rs 124.69 (6.469 per cent).

The corporate bond market also recorded low volumes of Rs 45 crore (Rs 450 million), against the daily average of around Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).

The foreign exchange market was also very thin. The rupee finished a tad higher at 47.6400/6450 per dollar, as against its pervious close of 47.6475/6550.

Although the impending war against Iraq overshadowed trading sentiment in the foreign exchange market, dealers cheered every four and six by the Indian cricketers.