Mumbai: Led by steel stocks, equities fell sharply after a promising start and pushed the SENSEX 65 points at close in volatile activity at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on September 22 due to late sell- off by speculators as well as institutional investors.

Tisco, SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) and Jindal Strips were among top 10 losers on selling triggered by reports that the government has warned of some tough action if steel companies failed to voluntarily stabilise domestic steel prices.

Depicting the slide, the BSE Benchmark 30-share Index that spurted to the intra-day high at 4237.42 at early stages, later fell back to end at 4151.72 as against last Friday's close of 4217.12, a net loss of 65.40 points or 1.55 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 Index declined sharply to 2102.05 from previous close of 2140.62.

Attributing late sell-off by speculators to hedging by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in derivatives, brokers said FIIs which made increased net investments of Rs 803 crore in the first four sessions of last week, were believed to have shifted focus to cash group.

Bulls resorted to unloading of high positions in futures and options while domestic funds booked profits at the prevailing higher price levels, they added.

Key stocks like RIL, HLL, HPCL, ITC, Hindalco, Grasim, Tata Motor, SBI, Ranbaxy, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Lab, Bajaj Auto, Satyam Comp and BSES also recorded substantial falls.

Meanwhile, the BSE slapped special margins on 101 scrips including steel stocks with effect from Sept. 22 to check volatility.

PTI