Weakness persists; heavyweights weigh

Infosys, TCS, ONGC, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors drag indices lower in noon deals

Negative trades continue in noon deals with the heavyweights like Infosys, ONGC, ICICI Bank, TCS and Tata Motors leading the losses. AT 1300 hrs, the Sensex was down 84 points at 19,140 and the Nifty lost 22 points to trade at 5,791.

In the broader markets, the midcap advanced 0.5% and the smallcap index gained 0.3%, both outperforming the Sensex which slipped 0.3%.

The rupee rose on hopes of inflows related to debt limit auction, say dealers. The pair is at 58.70/71 after rising to 58.92, versus its record closing high of 58.77/78 on Tuesday and remains within touch of an all-time high of 58.98 hit on June 11.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average hit a one-week high on Wednesday, with traders citing the launch of a near $780 million investment trust as a driving factor. The Nikkei ended 1.8% higher at 13,245.22 points, its highest since June 12.

European shares edged higher and major currencies and commodities were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve's next policy step. CAC, DAX and FTSE gave off 0.5-0.6% in the opening trades.

Among the sectoral indices, Metal and Consumer Durables indices were up over 1% each along with Realty gaining 0.3% were the only indices in the green. Meanwhile, Auto, PSU, IT, Power, Capital goods, Oil & Gas, Health Care, Bankex and FMCG indices were down 0.1-0.7%.

The only gainers among the Sensex-30 stocks were Jindal Steel up nearly 6% along with Bharti Airtel, Sterlite, Tata Steel, Gail India and Hidalco adding 1-2%.

On the losing side were Dr Reddys Lab, Tata Motors, NTPC, ONGC and Infosys which gave off 1.5-2%.

The other major draggers were TCS, Coal India, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, BHEL, L&T and Sun Pharma down 0.6-1.4%.

The market breadth was marginally positive. 1,042 stocks advanced while 1,037 declined on the BSE.