BSE Sensex falls 167 points on Greece debt crisis

Benchmark indices fell over 0.50 per cent on Monday as Greece looked set to default on its debt repayment this week, sparking concerns about foreign selling in emerging markets.

Foreign portfolio investors have already sold shares worth Rs 2,760 crore in June so far, adding to sales worth Rs 5,768 crore in the previous month, exchange and regulatory data shows.

The euro fell almost 2 per cent on Monday and European share markets looked set to eclipse big declines in Asia, as investors were spooked by the spectre of a Greek debt default.

"Fear on Greece is bigger than the actual problem. I think 8,000 should serve as a good support on NSE," said Deven Choksey, managing director at KR Choksey Securities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 0.60 per cent, while the 50-share Nifty lost 0.75 percent and closed at 27,645.15 and 8,318.40, respectively.

Blue-chip stocks led the declines. Hindalco, State Bank of India and Sun Pharma lost 3.55 per cent, 2.08 per cent and 2.03 per cent, respectively.

Reliance Industries lost 0.88 per cent and Maruti Suzuki fell 1.93 percent.

Also, shares in Indian companies with exposure or units in Europe were among the top losers on the BSE.

Bharat Forge slumped 4.03 percent while Motherson Sumi Systems slid 1.32 per cent.

Tech Mahindra slumped 7.19 per cent after the company said seasonally weak mobility business will be a drag on April-June revenue and operating profit.

Nilesh Shah, managing director, Kotak Mutual Fund, said, "Last whole week global markets were expecting Greece and EU to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution. Weekend announcement of Referendum has created uncertainty. From India point of view, our markets will witness little lower volatility than peers as we are least impacted from the unfolding events in Greece and EU. Certain stocks in IT, pharma and auto anciliaries having significant exposure to Euro will underperform the market. Since Greece issue is well known for some time, it is unlikely to cause as much correction as the 2008 Global Crisis."

(With inputs from Reuters)