Key indices languish in red

Key benchmark indices languished in negative terrain in morning trade, tracking weakness in Asian shares. At 10:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 119.62 points or 0.49% at 24,539.61. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index was down 32.85 points or 0.44% at 7,452.45. The Sensex and the Nifty have traded in negative zone so far during the trading session after opening with a downward gap.

The Sensex fell 207.63 points, or 0.84% at the day's low of 24,451.60 in early trade, its lowest level since 3 March 2016. The index fell 113.69 points, or 0.46% at the day's high of 24,545.54 in morning trade. The Nifty 50 index fell 61 points, or 0.81% at the day's low of 7,424.30 in early trade, its lowest level since 3 March 2016. The index fell 27.55 points, or 0.37% at the day's high of 7,457.75 in morning trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was negative. On BSE, 976 shares fell and 810 shares rose. A total of 85 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.10%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.3%. The decline in this index was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

In overseas markets, nervous Asian investors resumed selling as the optimism that had fuelled this month's rally was shattered as ongoing weakness in China rekindled fears about the global economy. China's Shanghai Composite was currently down 2.90%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.61%. US stocks snapped five-day winning streak to close lower yesterday, 8 March 2016, as supply woes weighed on oil prices and worries about a prolonged slowdown in China resurfaced.

Metal shares declined across the board as global commodity prices fell. Tata Steel (down 3.07%), Steel Authority of India (down 3%), NMDC (down 2.96%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.4%), Bhushan Steel (down 2.32%), National Aluminium Company (down 2.06%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.58%) and JSW Steel (down 1.56%), edged lower.

High Grade Copper for May 2016 delivery was currently down 0.5% at $2.211 per pound on the COMEX.

Most realty shares edged higher. Phoenix Mills (up 4.86%), Sobha (up 4.62%), Unitech (up 4.57%), D B Realty (up 3.85%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.42%), Godrej Properties (up 2.06%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.79%), Anant Raj (up 1.71%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 1.54%) and Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.49%), edged higher. DLF (down 0.05%), Sunteck Realty (down 0.66%), Peninsula Land (down 0.72%) and Parsvnath Developers (down 1.24%), edged lower.

Crompton Greaves jumped 5.91% at Rs 147.80 after company announced during trading hours today, 9 March 2016, that it has approved the sale of its European, North American and Indonesian transmission & distribution (T&D) business to a US-based private equity fund for an enterprise value of 115 million euros. The sale will enable the company to reduce debt and focus on its faster growing Indian businesses. The company said it continues to actively examine its other international B2B businesses with a view to monetise these businesses to enhance shareholder value.

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