Realty, Auto weighs on the market

The markets continue to trade in the red as the Sensex is at 19,377 down 75 points and the Nifty is down 27 points at 5,816. After starting at 19,382, the BSE benchmark index tried to move north but lost steam at 19,426, slipping down again. Feb IIP data will be eyed which could set the further direction.

After ending the previous week outperforming the Sensex, the broader markets are trading flat in the morning trades. The smallcap and the midcap indices are at 8,775 and 7,161 respectively. The benchmark index continues to underperform at 0.2% in the negative.

Among the sectoral indices, FMCG, IT and Consumer Durables are trading the positive with gains between 0.3-0.9%. The laggards on the other hand are Realty, Auto and Oil & Gas indices down 1% each.

The gainers on the Sensex are ITC, Tata Power, BHEL and Infosys down 1% each. Sterlite, Reliance Infrastructure, NTPC and Bharti Airtel adding 0.5-0.7% are the other notable gainers.

Realty major DLF, HDFC Bank, ONGC and Jindal Steel down 2% each are the top losers. HDFC, Jaiprakash Associates, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Communications shedding 1% each followed.

The market breadth is negative.1244 stocks have declined while 1170 have advanced on the BSE among the 2511stocks traded on the BSE.