Sensex down over 200 points; Infosys, TCS dip over 1.5%

IT shares continued to remain weak ahead of fourth quarter earnings from TCS later today

Markets witnessed selling pressure with benchmark indices extending losses in noon trades with IT majors leading the decline.

At 12:35PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 241 points at 28,558 and the 50-share Nifty was down 84 points at 8,666.
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(Updated at 11:40AM)
Benchmark share indices continued to trade weak in late morning trades weighed down by IT majors with analysts expecting sluggish revenue growth from TCS which will announce its fourth quarter earnings later today.

At 11:40AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 105 points at 28,695 and the 50-share Nifty was down 45 points at 8,705.

Further, the broader markets were also trading lower as investors booked profits after recent gains. The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were down 0.8% each.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 108 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

CURRENCY

The rupee pared early gains and was trading lower at 62.38 compared to the previous close of 62.36 tracking weakness in the domestic equity market.

SECTORS AND STOCKS

BSE IT index was the top loser down 1.6% followed by Healthcare, Realty, Bankex and FMCG among others. Auto, Oil and Gas indices were among the gainers.

IT shares witnessed profit taking ahead of fourth quarter earnings from TCS with the street forecasting sluggish revenue growth. Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies and Wipro were down 1.5-3% each.

Bank shares continued to witness profit taking with private lenders leading the decline. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.5-1.2% each while SBI was down 0.8%.

Investors seems to trimming their positions in the pharma sector with Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla down 0.8-1.6% each.

Hero MotoCorp was down 1.3% after US-based Erik Buell Racing (EBR), in which Hero MotoCorp holds 49% stake, has announced a closure of operations.

Meanwhile, oil exploration majors Reliance Industries, Cairn India and ONGC are trading higher by 0.4-3.3% each tracking firm global crude oil prices.

Tata Motors was up 1% after the company reported a growth rate of 9 per cent in global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover's, at 1,03,952 units in March 2015. Mahindra & Mahindra rebounded after witnessing profit booking in the previous sessions. The stock was up 0.4%.

Among other shares, Shares of KEC International have gained 4% to Rs 105 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market after the company entered into a binding agreement for sale of its telecom assets.

Market breadth was weak with 1,506 losers and 875 gainers on the BSE.