Sensex down 100 pts; large-caps under pressure

HDFC Bank, HUL, Tata Steel were the major draggers in noon deals

Markets extended losses in afternoon deals with the Sensex down at 107 points at 22,525 and the Nifty was lower by 25 points at 6,736 at 1420 hrs. HDFC Bank, HUL, Tata Steel were the major draggers.

Sentiment weakened as foreign investors sold index futures, worth Rs 11.70 billion over the previous two sessions.

However, buying was visible in the broader markets with the smallcap adding nearly 0.6% and the midcap index was up 0.3%, both outperforming the BSE benchmark index, down nearly 0.5%.

Global Markets

Asian share markets put in an indecisive performance on Tuesday as caution ahead of some major events this week overshadowed a late rally on Wall Street.

Activity in Asia had been very much muted with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan drifting off 0.25%.

Hang Seng, Taiwan Weighted and Shanghai Composite up 0.7-1.5% were the only indices to close in green in Asia.

In Europe, FTSE and DAX gained 0.4% each while CAC slipped 0.1%.

Sectors & Stocks

On the sectoral front, BSE Metal index slumped by nearly 2% followed by counters like FMCG, Banks, Power and Oil & Gas, all falling down between 0.1-1%.

However, BSE Realty and Consumer Durables indices have gained by nearly 1% each.

Coal India and Sun Pharma up 0.5-0.7% were the top gainers among Sensex-30.

BHEL, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and L&T up 0.15 each rounded off the gainers list.

Metal names like Tata Steel and Hindalco down 2-4% were the top losers in noon trades.

Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, HDFC Bank, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Cipla down 1% were the other notable names in red.

The market breadth was weak. 1358 stocks declined while 1294 stocks advanced on BSE.