Markets slip in opening deals, ITC, banks weigh

On the other hand, pharma shares bucked trends and are up around 1pct each

Benchmark share indices have slipped into the red in opening trades tracking weakness in Asia. Market participants will keep a tab on the consumer price index and the wholesale price index data on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

The Sensex is now down 105 points at 20,017. Nifty is down 30 points at 6,077 amid profit taking at higher levels. The Sensex and Nifty topped key levels of 20,000 and 6,000, respectively last week – pushed higher by strong FII inflows, rally in the global markets, strong corporate earnings and better-than-expected IIP numbers.

Oil and gold prices fell on Monday as the dollar strengthened, dragging Asian shares lower, but Japanese equities outperformed on the back of the yen's slide to a fresh 4-1/2-year low against the U.S. currency.

Investors remained cautious ahead of a set of data due later in the session to gauge the current state of the world's top two economies, the United States and China. Both countries will report retail sales for April.

Most of the sectoral indices, barring consumer durables and healthcare have slipped in early trades. BSE FMCG index is down 1% at 6,811.Capital goods, IT and auto are showing weakness as well - down half a per cent each. Meanwhile, the consumer durables index is up 0.7% at 7,759.

Going ahead, the Nifty might extend the up-move to near 6,200-levels. Near-support for the index can be expected at 6,040-odd levels, technical analysts suggest.

ITC is the top dragger among Sensex stocks. Along with financial shares like HDFC and HDFC Bank, ITC accounts for almost 70 points drop on the Sensex. TCS has slipped 1.2% at Rs 1469. Gail India is down 1.2%. Auto shares are weak - Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors are down 1% each.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy's has added 2% in morning deals to Rs 2,136. Cipla and Sun Pharma - also from the pharma pack - are up 0.5% each.

In the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap index was down 0.2% and the Small-cap index slipped 0.1%.

Market breadth on the BSE was weak with 667 losers and 497 gainers.