786 stocks fall as SEBI steps up vigil

About 768 small and mid-cap stocks in the Bombay Stock Exchange witnessed selling pressure and got locked in the lower circuit as regulator SEBI started clamping down on manipulators and erring companies, even as the Sensex touched 8,700 points in intraday trading on Thursday.

The blood-bath was among the small companies especially in the T-Group, where 442 companies saw their share prices falling to the maximum permissible level or the lower circuit.

In the Z-Group, about 106 stocks skidded to the lower circuit, according to the Bombay Stock Exchange data. As many as 97 scrips in the B2 Group stocks and 89 in TS group hit the lower circuit during the day.

In the S-Group, 24 stocks kissed the lower circuit while only 10 were down in B1 group. But amidst such a fall, 48 group stocks bucked the trend and were blocked at the upper circuit limit.

Though the Sensex gained more than 44 points on the day to close at an all-time high of 8,650, a negative sentiment prevailed all over the market as a result of sliding side counters.

It might have reflected the hidden apprehensions of a probe by regulators SEBI, which barred two companies on Tuesday from trading their shares in the market. More companies are likely to come under SEBI scanner.

In fact, Sensex was the only index in BSE to close with a positive market breadth. On BSE, the overall market was severely negative with almost 84 per cent of the stocks ending in red.