Markets weak in opening trades

The markets have opened in the negative in line with the global cues. The Sensex is quoting at 17421, weaker by 53 points, and the Nifty is at 5204, lower by 17 points.

The US markets ended lower, with the Dow closing weaker by 122 points and the Nasdaq shedding 29 points. And the Asian markets mirrored the losses on Wall Street; Hang Seng lost 212 points and Straits Times shed 15 points.

The major losers on the Sensex are HDFC Bank (weaker by Rs 16 or 0.9% at Rs 1740), ICICI Bank (lower by Rs 6 or 0.7% at Rs 870) and Hindalco (down Rs 1 or 0.6% at Rs 164). The other significant losers are Sterlite, Tata Motors and HDFC.

The leading Sensex gainers are M&M (stronger by Rs 9 or 0.8% at Rs 1155), Sun Pharma (higher by Rs 11 or 0.7% at Rs 1486) and Hero Honda (up Rs 9 or 0.5% at Rs 1687).

The market breadth is neutral. Out of 750 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 337 advancing stocks as against 384 declines.