Sensex down over 100 points; Nifty slips below 7,550

IT shares were among the top losers ahead of their third quarter earnings

Markets extended losses after the first hour of trade weighed down by profit taking in information technology ahead of their third quarter earnings.

At 10:35am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 110 points at 24,715 and the NIfty50 was down 36 points at 7,528.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was marginally down while Smallcap index trimmed early gains and was up 0.2%.

Market breadth continued to remain strong with 1,311 gainers and 856 losers on the BSE.

TCS was down 1.2% ahead of its third quarter earnigns later today while Infosys and Wipro eased between 0.9%-1% each.

Oil explorers were down amid weak global crude oil prices. ONGC was down 2.3% and Cairn India slipped 2.1%.

In the financial pack, HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.4%-1.8% each.

Among other shares, Aviation stocks witnessed buying interest as lower crude oil prices would boost earnings with aviation fuel comprising nearly 40% of the operating costs for the airlines. SpiceJet, Jet Airways, InterGlobe Aviation were up over 2% each.

Shares of CMI has surged 16% to Rs 354 on the BSE in early morning trade after GMO-controlled funds bought more than 10% stake in telecom cables manufacturer for Rs 45 crore through open market transaction.
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(updated at 9:35am)
Markets continued to trade flat in early trades on Tuesday led by beaten down capital goods while profit taking in IT majors ahead of their third quarter earnings capped upside gains.

At 9:35am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 12 points at 24,813 and the Nifty50 was down 3 points at 7,561.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was up 0.4% while Smallcap index was up 0.6%. Market breadth was positive with 1,166 gainers and 273 losers on the BSE.

"For the Nifty resistance is seen at 7585 above 7607, 7632 and 7650. Support for the Nifty is seen at 7559 below 7531, 7492," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services said in a note.

Meanwhile, the global markets continue to remain unnerved amid China growth concerns along with a sharp decline in the crude oil prices and quoting near 12 year low on oversupply glut.

Investors will keenly await for the Consumer Price Inflation numbers due to be unveiled by the government later today.

Further, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in equities worth Rs 1,319 crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian equities are trading near four year lows on China growth worries. Meanwhile, oil prices plunged near 12-year lows on oversupply glut. Japan's Nikkei slipped 1.3% hitting a three-month low and down over 8% so far this year. In addition, China’s Shanghai Composite has extended its losses and is down 1%. However, on the Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX managed to stabilise on Monday after three day of losses, finishing 0.1% higher.

US stocks ended mixed on Monday as weak crude oil prices capped upside gains. The Dow Jones ended up 0.3% at 16,399, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% at 1,924 while the Nasdaq ended down 0.1% at 4,638.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Capital Goods index was the top gainer up 1.2% followed by Power, Consumer Durables, Auto and Healthcare indices among others.

In the capital goods space L&T was up 1.5% following an upgrade by a foreign brokerage. State-owned engineering major BHEL was up 2%.

In the pharma space, Sun Pharma and Lupin were up 0.6% each.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries extended gains and was up 0.6%.

Other Sensex gainers include, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and NTPC among others.

IT major TCS was down 1% ahead of its third quarter earnings while Infosys was down 0.9% and Wipro lost 1.1%.