Try as they did, the markets could not free themselves from the bear clutch last week too. Despite some gains on Monday and Tuesday, the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty lost 1.8 per cent and 2 per cent respectively by the time the week closed. The cut was sharpest on Friday when the Sensex shed as much as 297 points.

Among the factors contributing to the pain were continued concerns about the global economic situation, Moody's downgrade of Japanese debt, warning notes by leading brokerages about more pain for India Inc., and the policy paralysis in Delhi following the Lokpal imbroglio.

The fall seemed to be more pronounced among the market's big boys, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling by a lower 1.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. Among the sectoral indices, BSE Metal registered the steepest fall (5.3 per cent) with global economic jitters raising concerns about a sharp correction in commodity prices.

Next in line was the BSE Bankex , which dipped 4.8 per cent, thanks to continuing high inflation which may restrict the RBI from going easy on its rate tightening spree. The usual favourite whipping boy, BSE Realty, was down 4 per cent, with markets concerned about the impact of high interest rates, bloated debt levels, and corporate governance issues. That only one (BSE Teck) of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE closed in the green reflects the widespread nature of the market fall.

As many as 322 stocks in the BSE 500 registered a decline during the week. Leading the fall was Deccan Chronicle Holdings which shed a whopping 24.6 per cent. This may be due to concerns that continuing political uncertainty on the Telangana issue would take a toll on the company's advertising revenues.

SKS Microfinance further slid down the slippery path and lost 19.8 per cent over fears about recoverability of its huge loan portfolio in Andhra Pradesh. Media player TV18 Broadcast was the third biggest loser in the BSE 500 during the week, shedding 19.1 per cent.

Jet Airways was again among the big losers giving up almost 15 per cent. Along with concerns on high fuel cost, what also dragged the stock were worries about an impending price war with SpiceJet set to launch its regional operations. A sharp dip in the price of gold in the latter part of the week was mirrored in the stock of Manappuram Finance which slid 14.6 per cent.

Amidst the market blues, there were some stocks which marched the other way. Dye manufacturer, Kiri Industries , led the charge and gained 25.5 per cent on the back of a Rs 100 crore multi-year order bagged by it. GTL Infrastructure , which had been hammered down in June due to worries about its high leverage, gained 13.2 per cent on the back of news that it is in debt restructuring talks with lenders.

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