India's benchmark BSE 30-share index dropped 612.6 points to 17,526.93, its weakest close since Jan. 24, with 29 components in the red.
"Looks like there was heavy selling from the foreign funds today," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities. "The confidence is just not there. There are not many buyers in the market as people are fearing that the market will fall further,"
"There is some disappointment, but I am not too despondent. I am reasonably confident these numbers can only move upwards," he told reporters."We have missed a step. But we do not think of it as a five-year kind of market but we think of it as a 30 year plus kind of market...we are one of the early ones," N. Ramachandran, chief executive of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said."There is now a significant retail interest in mutual funds and Morgan Stanley hopes to become one of the preferred mutual fund choices for investors over time,"he said.
"Clearly moderation has set in, essentially driven by industrial moderation," said Shubhada Rao, chief economist with Yes Bank."Going forward in (fiscal year 2008/09) we expect growth to maintain 8.5 percent levels, led by infrastructure spending."
"Going forward there are clearly downside risks to growth emerging from external factors," said Sonal Varma, an economist at Lehman Brothers."There is so much uncertainty out there. The markets are volatile. People are talking about a recession in the U.S. impacting spending levels and consumer confidence," Patni Chief Financial Officer Surjeet Singh said.
"High investment growth is taking place which is promising for the future. We continue to have a healthy external account and inflation has been contained," Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan told reporters after a central bank board meeting in Lucknow.
Managing Director Glenn Saldanha said "We are attempting to try and close one more out-licencing deal before the end of the fiscal year,"
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