Realty stocks stumble as budget dashes investors' hopes

MUMBAI: With the interim budget dashing investors' hopes, realty stocks today nosedived on the Bombay Stock Exchange led by realty majors DLF and Unitech, which suffered the brunt of the sell off on the bourse.

The 14-share BSE realty index dropped 4.58 per cent to settled at 1,519.37 points. The index, which was rallying ahead of the announcement of the budget, plunged over five per cent to an intra-day low of 1,509.02 points.

In terms of market capitalisation, the realty index lost Rs 1,774 crore to Rs 49,099.62 crore in a single day.

The country's second largest realty developer, Unitech, settled with a loss of 5.34 per cent at Rs 30.15 on the BSE. During the trade, the scrip had dipped to a low of Rs 29.15, down 8.48 per cent over the previous close.

Besides, DLF closed the trade with a loss of about three per cent at Rs 155.95. During the day, it had dipped six per cent to Rs 151.45.

Indiabulls Realestate plunged as much as 10 per cent along with shares of other major realty players, which slipped after the interim budget belied investor expectation of policy changes in the interest-rate sensitive sector.

Indiabulls Realestate recovered from the day's low of Rs 97.50 to settle the trade at Rs 98.60, down 9.62 per cent on the BSE.