Broader markets underperform, BSE Midcap index slumps 2%

The markets are trading weak in late morning trades on Wednesday, amid political uncertainty. The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) withdrew from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) yesterday, claiming UPA had betrayed the Tamils of Sri Lanka with its soft approach towards the Mahinda Rajapakse-led government in that country.

The Sensex is down 100 points at 18,908 and the Nifty is lower by 41 points at 5,701. The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index has slumped 1.66% or 6,177 and the small-cap index is down 1.55% or 94 points at 5,948.

HDIL is the top BSE Midcap loser, down 13%. Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) has tanked 10% to Rs 54.75 on back of heavy volumes on the bourses. According to report the Mumbai-based property developer might lose its airport redevelopment project in city where it is building homes for slum dwellers.

Mannapuram Finance has extended the losses, and is down by nearly 12% as investors raised apprehensions over the company's gold loan business. Further, Manappuram Finance also informed BSE that the Director of the Company A. R. Sankaranarayanan who was the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee, resigned from the Board.

Other key losers include Opto Circuits, Delta Corp, Unitech, Core Education, BOC India, Shree Renuka Sugars, Puravankara Projects, South Indian Banks and Muthoot Finance, down between 5-13%.

The overall breadth of the BSE mid-cap index remains weak as 215 stocks are declining while 31 are advancing.