Market trips on disappointing IIP data

March IIP data at -3.5%

Markets have drifted lower in late morning trades after disappointing March Index of Industrial Production data. According to the release, March IIP data was at -3.5% with the capital goods segment contracting the most at -21.3%.

The Sensex was down  177 points at 16,269 after touching an intra-day low 16,234 and the Nifty fell 55 points to 4,911 after touching an intra-day low of 4,906 so far.

In the broader markets, the Mid-cap and the Small-cap indices lost between 0.7-0.9% almost in line with the BSE benchmark index which lost around 0.8%

The picture was no different in the Asian markets where all the markets are trading in the red with Hang Seng, Nikkei, Kospi and Taiwan down over 1% each.

Back home, selling was visible across the sectors. Realty, FMCG, Health Care, Capital Goods and Consumer Durables down 1% each were the counters which saw major selloffs.

Sensex losers include Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki which touched a 3-mth low, ITC, Infosys, ONGC and NTPC down 2% each.

The top gainers among the Sensex were auto stocks like Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors which added 0.4-0.8% bucking the broader market trend. Wipro and BHEL up 0.2% each were the only other gainers.

Among other stocks, Sintex Industries is trading lower by 3% at Rs 59, after reporting 46% year-on-year (y-o-y) fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 91 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12.

On the other hand, Chettinad Cement Corporation is frozen at the upper circuit of 20% at Rs 684, its lifetime high after the company said its planning to delist its equity shares from the stock exchanges.

SKS Microfinance is another stock which rallied 11% to Rs 98 after India's largest micro-lender announced its decision to reduce headcount by 1,200 employees and close down 78 branches in Andhra Pradesh.

The market breadth turned negative with 1383 stock declines and 850 advances.

The rupee continues to trade lower against the dollar at 53.59 as renewed concerns about the euro zone hurt riskier assets, with traders on watch for possible RBI intervention.