Inflation surges to 12.63 per cent; Sensex plunges by 435 pts

Rising prices of food items like fruits, vegetables and milk pushed up inflation to 12.63 per cent for the week ended August 9 from 12.44 per cent a week ago. Items that pushed up the wholesale prices-based inflation by 0.19 per cent include tea, pulses, cotton yarn and cement. "Annual inflation of 30 essential commodities, however, continues to be range bound 5.7 per cent to 6.7 per cent in 19 weeks of the current fiscal," said a Finance Ministry statement.

After posting a modest gain yesterday, the markets nosedived today with the benchmark Sensex dipping by over 430 points on heavy selling in interest-sensitive banking and reatly stocks. The 30-share Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange settled the day at 14,243.73, a loss of 434.50 points, or 2.96 per cent, from its previous close. The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also lost 131.90 points, or 2.99 per cent, to close at 4,283.85.