Markets extend losses in afternoon trades

Markets have extended losses suddenly in afternoon trades, owing to weakness in realty and metal space. The Sensex dropped to a low of 18,075 after moving sideways for most part of the morning. Nifty was down 71 points at 5,445.

Asian markets traded lower, mirroring cues from the US peers. Hang Seng has dropped 0.6% to 22,514. Nikkei shed 1.2% to 9,844. Shanghai Composite 1% to 2,679. European markets have opened in the red as well. FTSE was down 24 points at 5,749. CAC and DAX were down 23 and 67 points, respectively.

In US, a weak manufacturing report erased all the early gains of the market. Stocks rose in early trades on hopes of a resolution to the debt standoff. The Dow ended down 11 points at 12,132. Nasdaq was down 12 points at 2,744.

The BSE realty and metal spaces witnessed selling pressure. BSE realty index dropped 2% to 2,009. Reports that Mumbai’s residential sales dropped to a 30-month low in the quarter ended June due to record home prices and higher interest rates dampened sentiments. Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL, Orbit Corporation and Unitech were among the major losers in the space.

Metal and banking indices declined 1.5% each.

Telecommunication stocks, which had recently rallied on price hike news, softened today after the Telecom Commission approved major policy changes, including uniform revenue sharing for mobile phone companies at 8.5% of their annual sales. Reliance Communications dropped 4%, followed by Idea Cellular (3.8%) and Bharti Airel (1.7%).