Markets edge lower, crude weighs

Markets posted marginal losses in the opening trades following flat global cues and Brent crude surging above $121/bbl. The Nifty was down 7 points at 5900 and the Sensex dipped 34 points, at 19,667.

The crude advanced to the highest level since 2008 crimping market gains across Asia. Brent crude was hovering around $121/bbl due to unrest Yemen and elections in Nigeria.

Markets in US edged higher on thin volume, technology shares weighed. The Dow Jones industrial average crept to 12,400, up 0.2%, the Standard & Poor's 500 index surged 0.03% and The Nasdaq composite fell 0.01%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was declined 1.2%, at 9,606 due losses in auto shares on back of suppy worries and Toyota Motor Corporation said that it would halt production in North Amerai due to parts shortages. Other markets in Hong Kong and China were shut on account of holiday.

Markets succumbed to profit booking after rising 1.5% yesterday. Edelweiss in the morning note said, "it is strongly advisable to lighten up on long positions. One could also look at initiating speculative shorts with a stop-loss above 6000 for a test of supports at 5800-5700. In the event of a breakout of the falling trend line resistance of 5940, Nifty can further extend the rally towards 6100 but this remains a low probability case under current technical setup."

Selling pressure was seen in BSE IT shares after yesterday's rally. The BSE IT index was down 0.6%. Infosys dipped 0.7%, Wipro declined 0.6% and Patni Computer was off 0.2%.

BSE Auto shares were also weak, the index was down 0.5%. Bajaj Auto fell 0.9%, Apollo Tyres declined 0.9% and Mahindra and Mahindra was also off 0.9%.

Only nine components on the Sensex were trading in the green, BHEL advanced 1.2%, Reliance Communication climbed
0.9% and Hindustan Unilever was up 0.8%. Prominent losers were Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Larsen & Tourbo down 0.7% each.

Broader markets were trading flat, the midcap and smallcap indices were down 0.03% and 0.3% each. Market breadth was positive, 934 stocks advanced for 790 stocks which declined.