Markets at day's low; Rupee under pressure

Markets have slipped further in the red weighed down by metal stocks on the back of Chinese economic slowdown and It major Infosys on profit booking. Meanwhile, investors remain cautious after the Fed released the minutes of its latest policy meeting stating that the conditions for a rate hike are approaching.

At 2:40 PM, the Sensex is down 398 points at 27,593 and the Nifty has slipped 126 points to trade at 8,369. Top 5 losers on the Sensex include Tata Steel, Infosys, Vedanta, BHEL and SBI down between 2.5-4%.

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(updated at 1 PM)

Benchmark indices have slipped in the negative territory weighed down by select index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Tata Motors and Infosys. However, the downside was capped by the gains in the pharmaceutical stocks.

At 1PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 81 points at 27,852 and the 50-share Nifty was down 43 points at 8,452.

The broader markets were also in sync with their larger peers with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices trading down by 0.1% and 0.5% respectively. The market breadth is strongly negative with 1,573 declines against 943 advances on the BSE.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices tumbled to a fresh six-year low on Wednesday on the latest sign of a glut in crude supplies.

RUPEE

The rupee was quoting at 65.23 against the US dollar after on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE IT and Metal indices are under pressure, down by 1.6-1.7% each while BSE FMCG and Healthcare indices are rallying between 2-2.4% each.

Oil shares are under pressure post the slide in global crude prices. Reliance Industries has slipped below 1.4% while ONGC is down by 2%

Metal stocks have extended their losses on concerns of a slowdown in Chinese economy. Hindalco (1.3%), Coal India (1.3%), NMDC (2.3%), Tata Steel(2.8%), Vedanta(3.5%) are all in red.

Bharti Airtel was up 1% while Aditya Birla Nuvo was up 0.5% were among those which received 'in principle' approval for setting up payments banks.

Shares of healthcare companies are rallying over 1.2% after drug majors Sun Pharma, Lupin and Glenmark Pharma received nod from the US drug regulator for new drugs.

Lupin has got the nod from USFDA for fenofibrate, which is mainly used to reduce cholesterol levels in patients at a risk of cardiovascular disease. The stock has soared 6%

Sun Pharma announced that the USFDA has approved its supplemental new drug application for Ximino, extended-release capsules, strengthening its branded dermatology portfolio in the US market. The stock is up 2%

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has rallied 2.3% after the company received final approval from the USFDA to sell oral contraceptives -- drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol tablets -- in the US market.

Among other notable stocks, ITC is up 4% while HUL has gained  2.1%. On the flip side, Infosys is down by 3% while BHEL and LT are down between 1-2% each.