Markets tumble after Satyam shocker

Bombay Stock Exchange.

Indian equities markets plunged in afternoon trade on Wednesday after IT major Satyam Computer's co-founder and chairman B Ramalinga Raju resigned after confessing to a Rs 40-billion ($823 million) fraud that had been going on for years.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was down 6.17 percent or 637.55 points at 9,698.38 points nearly 90 minutes before the closing bell, after opening higher than the Tuesday's close of 10,335.93 points.

The Satyam scrip took a sharp dip, losing 77.39 percent of its value and was ruling at Rs.40.50 over its previous close of Rs179.10.

The broader S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was trading at 2,943.3 points, 5.45 percent lower.

Other market indices also plunged with BSE's midcap index trading 7.01 percent lower and the smallcap index shedding 6.31 percent.


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