Markets on a weak footing

metal stocks amongst the worst hit

Markets continue to trade on a weak note in the morning deals. The Sensex has slipped 158 points to 17,001 and the 50-share Nifty has dropped 48 points to 5,157 levels.

Metal stocks are the worst hit in the morning trades. The BSE metal index has shed 2% or 218 points to 10,455 levels. Power, raelty and auto stocks are also under pressure, the respective indices have slipped 1.2-1.3% each.

Shares of companies engaged in the retail business are under pressure on bourses in morning trades on reports that the Samajwadi Party (SP), Left parties and JD(S) have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.

Reliance Communications (RCom) has dipped 4% at Rs 61.30 after the Anil Ambani-promoted telecom firm said that it has put on hold the initial public offering (IPO) of its undersea cable unit, Flag Telecom, in Singapore due to adverse market conditions.

Crompton Greaves has dipped over 6% to Rs 122 on reporting lower-than-expected 8% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 85.9 crore for the quarter ended June 2012, due to higher material cost and employee benefits. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of Rs 102 crore from a heavy electrical equipment maker.
------------------------------------------------------
(Updated at 9:30 AM)

Markets have witnessed a gap down opening in trades today on the back of weak global cues leading to a sell off in the domestic markets. The Sensex has opened lower by 150 points at 17,007 and the 50-share Nifty is down 47 points at 5,160 levels.

Asian markets were trading lower as concerns grew about Spain's ability to stave off a sovereign bailout. Hang Seng slipped 470 points to 19,170, Nikkei was down 122 points at 8,547 and the Shanghai Composite dipped 23 points to 2,145 levels.

Back home, Maruti Suzuki is the top loser among the Sensex stocks. It has opened lower by 4.3% at Rs 1,095 after the company declared a lockout at the factory. It is a first such instance in its history, but the company firmly ruled out the possibility of shifting operations to Gujarat.

Metal stocks such as Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel have also opened lower by 1.5-2.2% each after the iron ore export slumped to multi-year low in April-June.

Among the other heavyweight stocks, Tata Motors, SBI, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Gail India, Dr Reddy's Labs, NTPC, ICICI Bank, ONGC and Sun pharma have also opened weaker by 0.8-1.8% each.

Selling pressure is visible across the board. Metal index is the top sectoral loser, down 1.6% or 177 points at 10,496. Auto, realty, power, consumer durables and bankex indices have also opened lower by 1-1.3% lower each.
 
Broader markets have also opened weaker. The BSE mid-cap index is down 0.7% or 42 points at 6,142 levels and the small-cap index is down 26 points at 6,650.

The overall breadth is negative as 882 stocks are declining while 517 are advancing.