Markets fall; Nifty slips below 7,900 on weak European cues

Top losers on the Sensex are M&M, Hero Moto, Bharti Airtel, SBI and ICICI Bank

Markets have erased all gains and are trading lower weighed down by weak opening of the European peers.

At 12:38 PM, the Sensex was at 25,939, lower by 94 points and the Nifty was at 7,863, down 19 points.

The top losers on the Sensex are M&M, Hero Moto, Bharti Airtel, SBI and ICICI Bank.


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Updated at 11:30

The markets have rebounded this morning due to strength across the Asian bourses after China cut interest rates and banks' reserve requirements in a bid to kick-start its wavering economy.

At 11.30am, the Sensex was at 26,079, higher by 47 points and the Nifty was at 7,907, up 23 points.

The broader markets are outperforming their largecap peers; the midcap index has gained 0.7% at 10,638 and the smallcap index has added 1.1% at 10,816. The market breadth is strong, with 1,307 gainers and 725 declines on the BSE.

The market participants will keenly watch whether the government succeeds in convening a special session of Parliament to pass the crucial GST bill.

RUPEE

The rupee is trading 3 paise lower at 66.13 to the US dollar.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks staged a recovery after the rate cuts by China's central bank. The People's Bank of China cut interest rates and lowered the reserve ratio late Tuesday in a much-anticipated move that some economists said was long overdue. The Shanghai Composite rebounded after sharp losses in the previous sessions and was up 0.8% while Japan's Nikkei was up 1.1%. The Hang Seng was trading flat while Straits Times was down 0.6%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

All the sectoral indices are in the green, with the exception of the banking space.

Index heavyweight RIL has zoomed by 2% at Rs 870. The IT sector is going strong this morning, with Wipro, TCS and Infosys gaining 1-2% each.

On the other hand, Hero Motocorp and BHEL are having a weak session of trade. Financials are witnessing profit-taking after a rebound in the previous session on account of shortcovering. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are trading weaker by 1-2% each.

Auto stocks are also weak on worries over sales growth slowdown in August. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj AUto were down 0.7-2.4% each.