Markets remain marginally lower, RIL dips 1%

Benchmark indices are trading marginally lower amid volatility weighed down by weakness among index heavyweight Reliance Inds.

By 12:55, the 30-share Sensex was down 26 points at 20,222 and the 50-share Nifty was down 6 points at 6,164.

On the global front, Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average eased 0.2%, after opening down 0.7% as Japanese shares ran into some profit-taking after their recent rally. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed at 480.79.

Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are closed on Friday for holidays.

Back home, the rupee today lost 21 paise to 54.98 against the dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the US currency against euro overseas.

Meanwhile, the Competition Appellate Tribunal today directed cement companies to pay 10% of a Rs 6,307-crore penalty imposed on them by fair trade regulator CCI for forming cartel in the sector.

According to Shardul Kulkarni, senior technical analyst at Angel Broking, “For Nifty, 6130 remains crucial and till the time Nifty stays above it, the bias is positive. We do not expect a break down immediately. For the immediate term, the bias is on the upside. The broad range that we expect Nifty to trade in the coming week would be 6,130-6,250.”

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty and Power indices have gained by over 1% each. However, BSE Consumer Durable and Healthcare indices have declined by 1%.

On the losing side, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Wipro, RIL, Bharti Airtel and Sterlite have fallen between 1-2%.

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include NTPC, TCS, ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel and ONGC, all gaining by nearly 1% each.

Among other shares, GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare has rallied 7% to Rs 5,114, extending its past four days rally on bourses on back of heavy volumes.

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) has dipped 8% to Rs 8.18 in noon deals on BSE after the promoter 2.72% stake sale plan though offer-for-sale (OFS) begins today.

The market breadth in BSE turns weak with 1,146 shares declining and 988 shares advancing.