The Sensex ended the day lower by more then 3 per cent in trade taking its losses to 7 per cent for the month. The Nifty which had rallied 3.35 per cent in the last 3 days gave up most of the gains to end lower by 189 points. Worries that the Food Bill would increase the subsidy bill and raise the prospects of a downgrade also weighed on sentiments.

The markets began the day lower, with selling pressure aggravating following a sharp drop in the European indices. Among the worst hit in trade today from the Nifty were the HDFC twins, with both HDFC Bank and HDFC plunging.

Both the stocks which have for long been bellweather stocks fell more then 8 per cent in trade - something unheard of in the recent past. Dealers say there was large scale selling in the counters by foreign funds, who have large holdings in both these stocks.

Other stocks that saw heavy decline was blue chip infra company L&T which shed 6 per cent in trade. Heavyweights, like ITC and Reliance were also not spared with ITC dropping more then 4 per cent today.

Pharma stocks also saw a fair bit of pressure with Sun Pharma falling 4 per cent and Cipla also dropping.

Banking stocks were badly battered with IndusInd Bank dropping more then 7 per cent in trade, while Yes Bank also lost close to 8 per cent. Other banking stocks that declined were Axis Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were also hammered on fears over military action in Syria. The Jakarta Index fell almost 4 per cent, and was the worst performer in Asia.

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