Sensex falls 219 points

The BSE Sens*x on Wednesday fell 219 points and ended below 15,000 due to weak European cues amid encouraging first-quarter corporate earnings.

Wiping out initial sharp gains of nearly 307 points, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer turned negative and settled the day at 14,843.12, netting a loss of 219.37 points or 1.46 per cent from previous close.

Good first-quarter results by India's electric equipment maker BHEL and the third-largest software exporter Wipro did not impact the market.

IT major Wipro reported 11.86 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,015.50 crore for the first quarter ended 30^th June, 2009.

European markets and US index futures were trading in the red on Wednesday afternoon, adversely affecting market sentiment.

Investors preferred to book profits at higher levels as the market surged sharply over the last five days.

The Sens*x rose from the intra-day low of 13,219.99 on July 13 to 15,191 on 20^th July, registering a rise of about 2,000 points or 15 per cent in five days after over 100 companies reported significant growth in Q1 net profits.

Foreign institutional investors too were net sellers to the tune of Rs 250.86 crore in equity on the BSE and NSE on 21^st July, according to provisional data.