Sensex down over 100 points as financials drag

HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel were the major draggers

Markets have slipped to day lows with the benchmark indices down 107 points at 26,979 and the Nifty gave off 27 points at 8,068 as selling financials, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel weighed on the indices.

There was some resilience in broader markets with the smallcap index up 0.6% and the midcap index gained 0.2% outperforming the BSE benchmark index down 0.5%.

Sectors & Stocks

Auto, Health Care, Power and banking index down 0.5-1% were the major sectoral losers in noon trades.

L&T, Baja Auto, SBI, ONGC, Infosys, GAIL, Hindalco and TCS up 0.4-1% were the top gainers among Sensex-30.

Some of the notable names in red were HDFC, Coal India, BHEL, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Hero Moto Corp, Tata Power, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma down 1-2.5%.

In individual names, Natco Pharma was locked in 5% upper circuit at Rs 1,439 after the company said its marketing partner in the US, Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. (BPI), has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Everolimus for tablets in dosages of 0.25mg, 0.5mg, and 0.75mg.

Info Edge (India) gained 2% at Rs 784 after the company's QIP Committee, on Thursday, approved and authorised the launch of Qualified Institutions Placement.

The market breadth was positive on BSE. 1,500 stocks advanced while 1,272 stocks declined.

Rupee

The rupee is trading at 60.43/44 versus its previous close of 60.3550/3650.

The USD/INR pair is sustaining gains despite monetary stimulus by the ECB as most funding in India remains dollar denominated, say traders.

Global Markets

Asian stocks were largely in red on Friday following the European Central Bank's surprise rate cut and caution persisting ahead of a  US jobs report.

Shanghai Composite up 0.87% was the only major market in green.

European markets exhibited a mixed trend with CAC and FTSE down by upto 0.1% while DAX added 0.2%.