Markets remain weak, IT and auto shares weigh

Benchmark indices continue to maintain lower activity weighed down by selling pressure among IT, Auto and Banking shares.

By 10:40, Sensex plunged by 120 points at 19,445, and the Nifty down 38 points or 0.63% at 5,877 levels.

On the global front, investors growing wary of recent index highs and mixed signals from global equities overnight capped Asian share prices on Wednesday, while sterling remained vulnerable after weak UK data fed fears of a triple-dip recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average marked another record high close on Tuesday, rising for an eighth straight day, while European shares retreated from modest gains at the end of the session, just shy of a fresh 4-1/2-year closing high.

Nikkei, Strait Times, Hang Seng and Shanghai have declined between 0.3-1%.     Taiwan and Kospi marginally up.

Back home, the rupee today gained 14 paise to 54.04 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on sustained selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley and HSBC each cut their India's economic growth forecasts for 2013/14 to 6% from 6.2% to reflect lower-than-expected growth in the October-December quarter.

HSBC says it expects 50 basis points of additional rate cuts in the calendar year 2013, and "a slightly more protracted recovery" in India.

On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durable, Auto, IT, Bankex, Metal and PSU indices have declined between 0.5-1%. However, BSE FMCG index is trading marginally higher.

Tata Motors is trading lower by around 2% at Rs 299 on reports that its key Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unit posted lower-than-expected around 3% year-on-year (yoy) growth in retail volumes in February mainly due to a sharp decline in volumes in China.

Hindalco, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, JSPL, GAIL, ONGC, Cipla and HDFC have declined between 1-3%.

On the gaining side, Sun Pharma, Wipro, ITC and RIL have surged by 1% each.

Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index has plunged by 0.46% whereas BSE Smallcap index is down 0.45%.

The market breadth in BSE remains unhealthy with 1,311 shares declining and 788 shares advancing.