All but two components were in the red. In the broader market, losers swamped gainers 5:1 on volume of 317.3 million shares.

For the week, the benchmark lost 15.95 per cent, its worst performance since December 1990.

"The sentiment is battered. It's time to stay away from the market," said Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president, Karvy Stock Broking.

Infosys Technologies fell as much as 17 per cent after the No. 2 software exporter cut its forecast in dollars for the full year citing the global economic turmoil even as its quarterly profit rose 30 per cent.

The BSE index, among the worst performer in Asia, fell as much as 9.6 per cent at one stage to more than half below its record high of 21,206.77 hit in January, before trimming losses on domestic institutional buying.

Traders said the outlook was weak and a global recession in the wake of the worst financial crisis in 80 years would not spare India.

Industrial output in August grew 1.3 per cent from a year earlier, its slowest pace in nearly 10 years, indicating high interest rates were crimping demand and analysts said the central bank was likely to focus on easing liquidity.

The Reserve Bank of India slashed the proportion of deposits that banks must keep with the central bank by one per centage point, in addition to a 50 basis points reduction announced earlier. The changes take effect on Saturday.

The moves pulled bank shares off their lows, but most ended in negative territory, with the sector index losing 7.8 per cent while HDFC Bank slipped 5.4 per cent to 1,046.35.

... contd.