Index heavyweights keep markets under tight leash ; Nifty holds 8,100

Index heavyweights ITC and HDFC were among the top losers along with bank shares

Markets continued to trade lower, amid weak global cues, as investors booked profits at higher levels after gains in the previous six-straight sessions with financials and index heavyweights leading the decline.

At 1:15PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 197 points at 26,839 and the 50-share Nifty was down 53 points at 8,124.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were down 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.

Market breadth was weak with 1,443 losers and 1,081 gainers on the BSE.

"Investors are selling on rallies. Further, caution is also seen ahead of the September quarter earnigns and few traders would like to keep open positions," says Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities Ltd.

Indian rupee which had gained in the previous sessions was trading lower against the US dollar. The Indian currency was trading lower by 12 paise at Rs 65.07 amid dollar demand from importers against the previous close of Rs 64.95.


GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian markets were trading weak with the exception of China which resumed trading after week-long holiday. China's Shanghai Composite ended up 2.9% while most other markets witnessed profit taking. Japan's Nikkei ended down 1% while Straits Times and Hang Seng were down 0.6-0.9% each.

European shares were trading lower in early trades tracking weakness in Asia while weak August exports from Germany also weighed on sentiment. CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 were down 0.4-0.5% each.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Defensive sectors were among the top sectoral losers with BSE FMCG index down 1.3% followed by Capital Goods, Bankex and Healthcare indices. BSE Consumer Durables was the sole loser.

Among the index heavyweights ITC was down nearly 3% while Reliance Industries eased 0.7%.

Financials witnessed profit taking after gains in the previous few sessions post the rate cut by the RBI. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI were down 0.5-1.6% each.

Pharma shares also eased after on profit taking. Lupin and Sun Pharma were down 0.8-1.8% each. Sun Pharma had gained in the previous session after it sought shareholder approval to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore through convertible debentures or a qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Mahindra & Mahindra was down 0.7%. The company announced that global credit rating agency Moody's Investors Services has assigned Baa3 foreign currency and local currency issuer rating with stable outlook to the company.

Tata Steel trimmed early gains and was trading with marginal gains. The steel major will commission a 3 million tonne steel plant in Kalinganagar by December, plans to scale up its operations gradually. Also, Tata Steel said its subsidiary in the UK and the trustee of the British Steel Pension Scheme had concluded the triennial actuarial valuation of the scheme.

IT shares are trading mixed with TCS and Wipro marginally down while Infosys was trading flat with positive bias ahead of its September quarter earnings early next week.

Among other shares, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was down nearly 3% at Rs 1,004 amid reports that the Delhi High Court on Wednesday restricted the company from manufacture and sale of anti-diabetes drugs.

Shares of New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV), Elgi Equipments and Ess Dee Aluminium have rallied more than 10% on the BSE in otherwise weak market on back of heavy volumes.