Wednesday, January 5 2005 14:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The market crashed like a pack of cards during midsession and was down by over 202 points at 1:10 pm (IST) as hedge funds resorted to across-the-board sell-off forcing local operators to heavily unload positions.

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index, which opened weak at 6628.89 as against yesterday's close of 6651.01, later reeled under pressure from foreign funds, which had taken the prices to dizzy heights during the last two months of 2004.

The Sensex touched a low of 6449.79 before being quoted at 6467.84 at 1:15 pm.

Metal, Auto, Bank, PSU and IT sectors bore the brunt of selling pressure and showed hefty losses.

Brokers said hedge funds suddenly went on a selling spree during the midsession pushing the market below 6500-level.

The sell-off was partly attributed to a sharp fall in the Nasdaq Composite Index by 44.29 points yesterday.

It is also said that the selling was purely a much-awaited technical correction and considered to be favourable for a healthy capital market.