Markets slip after gap up opening

BSE Bankex, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and Consumer Durables indices have declined by nearly 1%

Markets have slipped into negative zone after making a gap up opening tracking positive global cues.

By 9:30, the Sensex was lower by 57 points at 20,803 and the Nifty dipped by 20 points at 6,197 levels.

Asian share markets rallied on Thursday as a Federal Reserve commitment to low rates offset a long-dreaded decision to taper stimulus, sending Wall Street to record heights and the dollar galloping above 104.00 yen for the first time since 2008. The dollar was a major beneficiary, surging to 104.15 yen while the euro toppled back to $1.3685.

Japan's Nikkei share average jumped 1.5% on Thursday morning to within striking distance of its year high, as global equity markets took the glass half-full view after the US Federal Reserve announced it would start to unwind its historic stimulus.

Tokyo stocks were also bolstered by a surge in the dollar/yen to over five-year highs in the wake of the Fed decision, underscoring the benefits of a weak currency for Japan's export-reliant economy.

US stocks staged an explosive rally on Wednesday, driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to all-time closing highs after the Federal Reserve announced it would start to unwind its historic stimulus.

While the Fed's move came as a surprise to many in the market, it confirmed that the US economy was on firmer footing and put to rest the question of when the Fed would begin to scale back its bond-buying program, a relief to some investors, analysts said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1198.60 crore on Wednesday, 18 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

On the sectoral front, BSE Bankex, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and Consumer Durables indices have declined by nearly 1% each. However, BSE IT index is trading marginally positive.

The main losers on the Sensex at this hour include ICICI Bank, Hero Moto, SBI, ONGC, L&T, Bajaj Auto, RIL and Bharti Airtel.

On the gaining side, Hindalco, Sesa Sterli, JSPL, TCS and Maruti Suzuki have gained by 1% each.

Among other shares, SKS Microfinance is trading higher by 3% at Rs 181 in opening deals on the BSE after the company announced the third microfinance securitization during the current financial year of Rs 215 crore.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up by nearly 0.3% each.

The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 567 shares advancing and 319 shares declining.