M A I N   N E W S

Despite FM’s pep talk, Sensex slips below 10k

Finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Thursday there was adequate liquidity in the banking system and he advised banks to lend aggressively.

Chidambaram also asked investors not to sell stocks in panic. The minister’s comments came after the main stock index plunged to its lowest since June 2006 amid a gloomy global economic outlook.

At the close of trading, the Sensex finished at 9,771.70, down 398.20 points or 3.92 per cent from its previous close Wednesday at 10,169.90 points.

Worldwide slump continues

In global markets, US stocks plunged as a raft of disappointing corporate earnings from major US companies fueled pessimism about the global economy despite further thawing in credit markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average sank 514.45 points, or 5.69%, to end at 8,519.21, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slumped 58.26 points, or 6.10%, to finish at 896.79 and the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 80.93 points, or 4.77%, to close at 1,615.75.

Asian stocks tumbled, with the Nikkei plunging more than 4%, after another dive on Wall Street. The broader Topix lost 4.83%, Hang Seng lost 4.61% and Straits Times declined 2.93%. — Agencies