Markets trade weak; GAIL, ONGC dip 1.5%

Markets have slipped further in the negative territory owing to heavy selling in financials and Index heavy weights ITC and L&T despite easing of tensions in Ukraine and Gaza.

 

At 10.50 AM, the Sensex has slipped 72 points at 26,349 and the Nifty has shed 21 points to trade at 7,877.

 

The midcap index has dipped 0.3% while smallcap index is up by 0.5%.

 

ONGC, GAIL, SBI, Axis Bank and Hero Motocorp are the top 5 losers on the BSE. However, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s lab, Wipro, Cipla and HDFC Bank are the top 5 gainers on the 30-share Sensex. 

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(updated at 10.10)
After a firm opening, benchmark indices have slipped in the negative territory weighed down by Auto stocks and financials. However, fresh buying is evident in the defensive stocks. 

 

At 10.10 AM, the Sensex is down 8 points at 26,411 and the Nifty has dipped 6 points to trade at 7,891.

 

Broader markets are outperforming the large counterparts both the mid and smallcap indices have surged by 0.3 and 0.7%, each.

 

The market breadth is positive with 1210 stocks advancing while 720 stocks declining on BSE.

 

Asian Markets:

 

Asian stocks were steady on Wednesday after strong US housing data lifted Wall Street shares, helping nudge Treasury yields higher and keeping the dollar well bid against the euro and yen.

 

Global equities have attracted funds in recent sessions on expectations major central banks, including the US Federal Reserve will continue to retain their easy money policies for a while.

 

Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.1% and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.

 

Back home, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 559.39 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

 

Sectors and Stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Healthcare index is leading the rally up over 1% followed by IT and Teck indices. Metal, Oil & Gas and Power indices are up over 0.2%. However, Auto, Capital goods and Realty indices are losing sheen on the BSE. Bankex is down 0.1%.

 

Auto stocks are losing sheen during the morning trades. Hero Motocorp, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors are down between 0.2-1.3%. Following a recovery in sales and a turnaround in the commercial vehicles (CVs) segment, equity fund managers have raised exposure to the stocks of automobile and auto ancillaries companies.

 

Banking space is witnessing heavy selling in the early trades with Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI down between 0.2-1%.

 

Engineering conglomerate L&T has dipped over 0.5% on profit taking.

 

Oil and Gas major ONGC has lost nearly 1%.

 

FMCG space is trading weak with HUL and ITC down between 0.7-1%.

 

On the flip side, fresh buying is visible in the defensive stocks.

 

IT majors TCS and Wipro have gained between 0.5-1%. Infosys is trading marginally in green.

Dr Reddy’s lab, Sun Pharma and Cipla are trading between 0.5-2%, each.

 

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Hindalco are some of the notable names in green up between 0.5-1.5%.

 

Among other shares, Eros International Media has surged 8% to Rs 246 after the company said its on-demand entertainment portal ErosNow has acquired the worldwide rights of popular Zee TV shows.