Markets slip into red

The markets have slipped into red on account of profit taking at higher levels. The Sensex is now down 126 points 16,584.
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(Updated at 0940 hrs)

The markets began the trading session on a firm note taking cues from the global peers. the BSE Sensex is at 16,830, up 120 points and the S&P CNX Nifty is at 5,050, up 37 points.

Overnight, the US markets rallied by the latter part of the trading session, after key European leaders calmed jittery investors by assuring them that Greece would remain a eurozone member and would achieve its fiscal targets. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 1.3%, the S&P 500 added 1.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.6%.

On Thursday, the Foreign Institutional Investors were net sellers of Rs 46 crore in cash and the Domestic Institutional Investors were net sellers of Rs 183 crore.

According to data released yesterday, inflation rose to a 13-month high to draw closer to double digit mark, in August. Keeping the high inflation numbers in mind, the RBI is even more likely to go for another rate hike to tame price pressures or press a pause button to boost growth in its monetary review on Friday.

The bourses are further expected to react to the Corporate Advance Tax Payments, due today.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE Realty and Metal indices are leading the losses, having gained nearly a percent each. Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Steel & Power, JSW Steel, Sterlite Industries and Bhushan Steel, up 1-2% each, are the major losers among the Metals pack.

On the Sensex, JP Associates has moved up 2% at Rs 70.Other prominent gainers include Jindal Steel, BHEL, Sterlite Industries and Wipro. On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Power, down nearly a percent each, are the major losers among the Sensex stocks.

The overall market breadth is positive as 929 stocks have advanced against 429 declining ones on the BSE.