Benchmarks at day's low as markets extend losses

Key benchmark indices touched a new intra-day low in afternoon deals dragged down by ITC, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Reliance and M&M among other major heavyweights.

Market dipped as investors booked profits after sharp gains recently which pushed the Sensex above the 22,000 mark in intra-day trades on Monday. Capital goods and metal shares were among the top losers.

At 2:30 PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 143 points at 21,791 after hitting an intra-day low of 21,811 and the 50-share Nifty was down 34 points at 6,503.

In the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were flat trading between -0.1 and 0.1% respectively.

Meanwhile, trade deficit for February narrowed to $8.13 billion compared to $9.92 billion recorded in January. It was $14.12 bn in the same period last year. Exports stood at $25.68 bn compared to $26.35 bn in January. They were down 3.7% on a y-o-y basis.

Trade deficit narrowed in February on a sharp fall in imports, which would further ease pressure on the current account balance.

Imports were at $33.81 bn compared to $36.49 bn month-on-month. They were down 17% on a y-o-y basis. Oil imports for Feb were at $13.7 bn vs $14.13 y-o-y.

The rupee is trading at 60.72 versus its close of 60.85/86 on Monday after hitting a seven-month high of 60.5925 earlier in the session, tracking gains in most other Asian currencies. Traders say foreign fund flows into debt and equities continue to boost sentiment for the local currency.

Asian markets remained range bound with positive bias but concerns over China's economy following the fall in exports during February weighed on investor sentiment. Shanghai COmposite and Hang Seng were trading with marginal gains. Japan's benchmark Nikkei ended up 0.7% while Straits Times was trading 0.4% higher.

BSE Metal index was the top loser among the sectoral indices down 2.9% followed by oil and gas, capital goods and realty indices.

Shares of metal companies are under pressure second day in a row after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME), hit seven-month  low on Monday, February 10, 2014.

LMEX lost nearly 4% in past two trading sessions to 2,995 from Rs 3,118 on March 6. The index close at its lowest level since August 2013 on LME as China's exports unexpectedly tumbled in February, raising fears of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Sesa Sterlite, Jindal Steel and Power, NMDC, Hindustan Zinc and JSW Steel are down 2-4% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Shares of Sun Pharma extended losses and were down nearly 3%. According to FDA statement, Sun Pharma began recalling the bottles of metformin HCL extended-release tables on January 28, 2014, after it received a customer complaint that one of the bottles contained tablets of epilepsy drug Gabapentin.

L&T and Reliance Indsutries which had gained in the past few sessions witnessed profit taking at higher levels and were down over 1% each.

Profit taking was also seen in auto shares after growth in February sales. M&M, Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were down 0.1-2.4% each.

Market breadth was weak with 1,449 losers and 1,078 gainers on the BSE.