Markets open weak, Asian cues weigh

Sectors like Banks, Power, FMCG, Realty, Oil & Gas, IT, PSU, Auto and TECk have declined by nearly 1% each

Markets have started the trading session on a lower note tracking weak Asian cues. By 9:30, the Sensex was lower by 112 points at 18,662 mark and the Nifty slipped by 35 points at 5,633 levels.

According to technical experts, the overall bias is likely to remain bearish as long as the index trades below 5,755.  Today, the Nifty may seek support around 5,640-5,625, while face resistance around 5,695-5,710.

Stocks on Wall Street ended with marginal gains amid a volatile trading session on Friday even as the Fed’s decision to gradually reduce its monetary stimulus measures continued to weigh on investor sentiment.  The Dow Jones and S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent each while Nasdaq ended down 0.2 per cent.

Asian shares fell to a fresh 9-1/2-month low on Monday as investors worried about China's economic and financial stability and markets scrambled to price in the Federal Reserve's plan to tone down its stimulus drive starting later this year.   

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 1.2% to its lowest since early September, after posting its worst week since May 2012 with a drop of 4.5 % last week.  

China's money market rates remained elevated and volatile, keeping investors jittery about the intentions of the Chinese authorities, as the recent spike in market rates compounds fears of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.   

China's weighted average overnight bond repurchase rate, a measure of the cost of funds, fell to a low of 6.1 % earlier in the day but briefly crawled back up again to 9.1 %, slightly above Friday's close at 8.89 %.  

Back home, the rupee weakened on Monday, hovering near a record low hit last week, as worries about China's economic and financial stability hit global risk assets, while caution prevailed ahead of current account deficit data due this week.

Sectors like Banks, Power, FMCG, Realty, Oil & Gas, IT, PSU, Auto and TECk have declined by nearly 1% each. Apart from Healthcare, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in red zone.

The main losers on the Sensex at this hour include GAIL, JSPL, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, ITC, NTPC, RIL and Tata Motors, all declining between 1-3%.

Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) has dipped 5% to Rs 194 in early morning deals on BSE, on reports that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned the promoter Naveen Jindal in connection with its FIR against him and his company for alleged cheating while applying for coal block.

On the gaining side, Hindalco and Sun Pharma have fallen between 1-2%.

The markets breadth in BSE remains weak with 433 shares declining and 305 shares advancing.