Mumbai, Aug. 10: The sensex tottered at the start of trading today, plunging more than 529 points in early trades — with the market spooked by the 387-point fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday and the eddying effects of the collapse in the US sub-prime mortgage market.

The index clawed back some of the gains at the close as bargain hunters scooped up stocks in late trades. At the end of the day’s trading, the BSE sensex closed with a 232-point fall at 14868.25.

Like in other markets, banking and finance stocks were the worst hit, mirroring the bearish sentiment that has enveloped this sector since the start of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. However, IT shares provided some relief to battered stocks as a weak rupee saw brisk interest generated across this sector. Market experts warned that more pain could be on its way. “The markets today were only reacting to the international developments. In our assumption, it’s not the end of the bad news and some more news may come,” said V.K. Sharma, head of research at Anagram Stock Broking.

Seshadri Bharathan, director (stock broking), Dawnay Day AV Securities Pvt Ltd, said Independence Day — August 15 — could be crucial for stock markets globally.

Bharatan said this was an important date for hedge funds as an investor wanting to withdraw money from a particular fund had to give a 45-day notice. For the July quarter, July 1 to August 15 is the application period to withdraw serious money from a hedge fund. “After August 15, we will probably see people queuing up for redemptions in hedge funds. That may lead to a cascading liquidity-withdrawal syndrome across emerging markets. That has not happened yet; if it does, stock prices will come under selling pressure across markets where funds have invested,” he said.