Markets reel under pressure; Rupee near 2-year low

Markets continue to trade with weakness for the third straight day mirroring sell-off in the global peers after the much awaited European Central Bank (ECB) stimulus failed to meet the street expectations.

At 12:45 pm, Sensex was at 25,698, down by 188 points and the Nifty was at 7,802, down by 63 points. In the broader market, BSE Midacp and Smallcap indices have shed between 0.3-0.7%. The market breadth remains weak with 1,383 shares declining versus 1,080 shares advancing.

Meanwhile, the rupee is trading near its two-year low mark at 66.85 against the US dollar as the prospects of a Fed interest rate hike rekindled expressing confidence in the US economy.

Stocks

Broad-based selling is seen all across the counters with BSE IT index and Bankex slipping 1% each. However, BSE Healthcare and metal indices are outperforming and have gained 0.6% each.

The stellar performer of the day is Sun Pharma gaining over 3.6% after one of its subsidiaries has received USFDA approval to manufacture and market generic version of Novartis' Gleevec, used in treatment of cancer, in America. 

Metal shares are rising in an otherwise weak market with Tata Steel, Coal India, Hindalco and Veadnta surging between 0.1-1%.

Another prominent gainer is Tata Motors on reports stating that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is examining a bid worth millions of pounds to buy Britain's Formula One Grand Prix track. Tata Motors has climbed 0.5%.

On the flip side, rate sensitives are taking a hit today with HDCF twins, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank from financials have lost 0.7-2%. From the auto pack, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp and M&M shed between 0.2-2%.

Meanwhile, energy shares are trading cautiously ahead of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meet later today where the discussions on the production levels will be held.  OPEC will likely decide to roll over oil production at its meeting with Saudi Arabia telling other members it has no intention of floating a proposal for curbing output. ONGC and RIL have lost 1% each.

Another big loser of the hour is NTPC down 1.4% on Moody’s reports stating a negative outlook for the Indian power sector on the back of challenges like fuel supply risks, cost overruns at private plants and financially weak discoms.

Other notable losers include ITC, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Dr Reddys’ Lab declining between 1-1.5%.