Weakness persists; heavyweights weigh

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HUL and Bharti Airtel among the top losers

Markets continue to trade weak in noon deals with the Sensex down 95 points at 19,798 and the Nifty weakened by 31 points at 5,851. The ones weighing on the indices were ICICI and HDFC Bank, HUL and Bharti Airtel.

Meanwhile, the broader markets retained their strength with the smallcap index up 0.5% and the midcap index was up 0.3%, both outperforming as compared to the Sensex which was down 0.6%.

Global Markets

Most Asian stock markets posted modest gains up on Friday after U.S. jobless claims data pointed to an improving labor market, but the lack of progress in budget and debt negotiations in Washington kept investors on edge.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend, falling 0.3% as the market turned its focus to the government's growth strategy and tax plans next week.

European shares were in the red, with Germany's DAX, Britain's FTSE and France's CAC 40 down 0.1-0.3%.

Sectors & Stocks

On the sectoral front, Bankex, Realty, Metal, Capital Goods and Power indices were down between 0.2-0.8%.

On the gaining side were Oil & Gas, FMCG, Auto, Health Care, PSU, IT and Consumer Durables   indices in the positive territory, adding 0.2 -1%.

Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, BHEL and ICICI Bank down 2-35 were the major losers among the Sensex-30.

Hindalco, Dr Reddys Lab, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever and NTPC, were some of the other names in the red, down 1% each.

Among the ones in the red, Hero MotoCorp, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma and Coal India dipped 1-3% followed by Jindal Steel, Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, TCS, ITC and Sesa Goa down 0.3-0.5%.

In individual stocks, shares of Vijay Mallya led United Breweries (UB) Group companies are in limelight trading higher by up to 10% in late noon deals.

United Breweries, United Spirits, United Breweries Holdings, Kingfisher Airlines and McDowell Holdings are up 5-10% on back of heavy volumes.

Allcargo Logistics has surged nearly 13% to Rs 101 on NSE after the company has acquired Econocaribe Consolidators, a US-based logistics company for about $50 million.

Britannia Industries is trading higher by nearly 4% at Rs 784 also it’s a record high on BSE on hopes of sustainable growth in coming quarters.

Wockhardt is locked in lower circuit of 5% at Rs 551 on NSE with no buyers on the counter after the US regulator said that the company’s Chikalthana Form 483 includes 16 observations.

The market breadth was positive owing to the strength in broader markets. 1,144 stocks advanced while 1,078 stocks declined on the BSE.