Having recovered in the late morning deals from early lows, the markets have once again slipped, led by losses in IT shares. The BSE Sensex is at 16,780, down 133 points and the Nifty is at 5,075, down 39 points.
TCS and Infosys account for a 80-point loss on the benchmark index.
Earlier in the day, the Sensex had touched a low of 16,742 and the Nifty had dropped to 5,063.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average rebounded from a three-month low as investors reassessed the immediate impact of the French and Greek elections, although they remained wary of further flare up in the crisis-hit euro zone. The index is currently at 9,182, up 0.69%. The Hang Seng index has shed 0.34% and the Shanghai Composite index is down marginally.
Back home, on the sectoral front, IT shares continue to witness selling pressure after IT services company Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp revised its 2012 guidance downwards by nearly $200 million (around Rs 1,066 crore today), due to a slower than anticipated acceleration in demand. The index is currently down 2%. The prominent losers from the space are TCS, HCL Technologies, Financial Technologies, down 3-5% each.
BSE Capital Goods, Auto and Oil & Gas indices have shed 1% each.
PSU and FMCG shares, on the other hand, have gained nearly 1%.
On the Sensex, TCS, BHEL, Infosys, Wipro and Tata Motors, down 2-5% each, are the notable losers. The gainers from the pack are GAIL, DLF, Coal India, ITC and Sun Pharma Industries, up 1-3% each.
Shares of fertilisers companies are in the limelight on hopes that the demand for fertilizers will be higher during the current financial year 2012-13 on the back of normal monsoon forecast by the MET department. National Fertilisers, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, Chambal Fertilisers and Zuari Industries are trading higher by 1-4% on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, the broader markets continue to outperform the benchmark indices with the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices trading marginally in the green.
The overall market breadth is positive as 1,352 stocks have advanced against 1,059 declining ones, on the BSE.
