Markets remain subdued

BHEL top loser among the Sensex stocks

Markets continue to trade on a subdued note in the late morning deals. The Sensex is down 86 points at 18,410 and the 50-share Nifty is down 28 points at 5,572. The markets witnessed a gap down opening in the morning deals and the Sensex touched the low of 18,291.

Meanwhile, the Asian markets markets were trading on a weak note after data indicated little respite for Chinese manufacturers, suggesting growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed further in the third quarter.

Hang Seng was down 150 points at 20,691, Shanghai Composite slipped 24 points to 2,043 and the Nikkei fell 141 points to 9,091 levels.

Back home, the markets are closely watching the political developments after Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress withdrew support from the UPA government protesting the government's move to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail and diesel price hike.

BHEL is the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stock has slipped nearly 3% to Rs 218. HDFC, Gail India, Sterlite Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Coal India and Realiance Industries are also among the losers, down 1-2.5% each.

On the ther hand, IT stocks are witnessing buying after the INR rupee fell by 37 paise to trade at nearly one-week low of 54.38 against the dollar in trades today. TCS and Wipro are among the top gainers on the Sensex. Tata Motors has advanced 1.3% to Rs
278 after the company wins an order for 1,314 trucks from Surat-based Siddhi Vinayak Logistics. The order book value is estimated at around Rs 225 crore.

Jindal Steel, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, Hindalco, Sun Pharma, Tata Power and Mahindra & Mahindra are also among the gainers.

Most of the sectoral indices are in the red. The BSE realty index is the top sectoral loser, down 1.4% or 24 points at 1,718. Capital goods, power, metal, oil & gas, consumer durables, bankex, auto and PSU indices are also down 0.1-1% each.

At the same time, IT, FMCG and healthcare indices are up 0.1-0.7% each.

Retail stocks such as Provogue (India), Pantaloon Retail, V2 Retail, Brandhouse Retail, Trent and Shoppers Stop are trading weaker by 3-6.3% each.

Shares of EID Parry were up over 2% after the company informed that it has scheduled a meeting on October 11 to demerger the company's sugar subsidiary, Parrys Sugar Industries Ltd.

Shares of wind-energy major Suzlon Energy were down over 3% after the company after market hours Tuesday informed that it is seeking four-month extension of its Zero Coupon foreign currency convertible bonds due October 2012.

The broader markets in-line with the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are down 0.4% each.

The overall breadth is negative as 1,346 stocks are declining while 977 are advancing.