Sensex recovers 400pts, European cues help

The markets have recovered smartly in the last one-hour of trades, on the back of positive cues from the European markets, and selective buying in index heavyweights. The BSE Sensex recovered 400 points from the day's low, and is now down 133 points at 17,173.

The S&P CNX Nifty is at 5,161, down 50 points.

The European markets, though weak, have opened fairly better and are recovering some of the losses harboured during the previous trading days. The CAC 40 is flat at 3,893, up 0.1%, DAX is at 6,236, down 2.8% and the FTSE100 is at 5,247, down 2.7%.

The broader markets too are striving hard to recover. The midcap touched the day's low of 6,389 and now is back to where it started the day from, at 6,589, down 1.6%, The small cap index is at 7,815, down 2.4%.

Among the key index heavyweights - ONGC and SBI are leading the recovery, with gains of 2% and 1%, respectively. Hero Motocorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and SBI are the other top gainers.

On the other hand are DLF, Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys and Tata Steel, down 4-5% each.

Among the sectoral indices, Realty and IT indices continue as the most battered, having lost 4% and 3%, repsectively. TECk, Metal and Capital goods indices have shed 2-3% while Oil & Gas, PSU & Bankex indices are the least affected.

ADAG companies, Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure are trading lower by more than 2% each after being excluded from the BSE 30-share Sensex from today onwards. Now, there are no representatives from the ADAG  pack on the Sensex.Reliance Communications is down 3.4% while Reliance Infrastructure lost 2.4%

The market breadth is very negative. 2,182 stocks have declined while 501 advanced on the BSE.