Markets remain subdued

Realty stocks amongst the worst hit

Markets continue to trade on a subdued note in the morning deals. The Sensex is down 99 points at 18,694 and the 50-share Nifty has slipped 31 points to 5,673 levels.

Selling pressure is visible across the board. Realty stocks are the worst hit in the morning deals. The BSE realty index is down 3% or 59 points at 1,831. Power, bankex, capital goods, PSU, IT, oil & gas and consumer durables indices are also down 0.3-1.3% each.

Among the individual stocks, DLF has dipped over 4% to Rs 214 on the National Stock Exchange after a fresh allegation from activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal accusing the Congress-led Haryana government of favouring realty major.

Emkay Global Financial Services has rallied almost 10% to Rs 27.70, bouncing back 22% from intra-day low on reports that the broking firm has met all its financial obligations to the National Stock Exchange, arising from a set of erroneous trades that jolted domestic markets last week.

Peninsula Land has surged over 7% at Rs 53.75 in morning trades, after the company said it has entered into an agreement with HEM Bhattad to develop property in Central Mumbai.
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(Updated at 9.20 AM)

Markets have opened lower in trades today tracking subdued global cues. The Sensex has slipped 100 points to open at 18,693 and the 50-share Nifty is down 30 points at 5,674.

Overnight, US stocks edged lower on Tuesday after A stark warning from the IMF about the global growth outlook and the prospects for Spain and Greece sent European stocks and the single currency lower. Dow Jones crashed 110 points and Nasdaq shed 47 points, respectively.

In Asia markets fell, led by losses in technology and materials stocks after brokerage downgrades for top chip maker Intel Corp and a warning from global miner Rio Tinto about the uncertain near-term outlook.

Global equities and the euro had fallen on Tuesday, knocked by gloomy forecasts from the International Monetary Fund, which said the world economic slowdown was worsening, and pessimism about the U.S. corporate earnings outlook.

The Hang Seng was down 43 points at 20,894, Nikkei slipped 160 points or nearly 2% to 8,610, Straits Times and Seoul Composite were also down 1% each.

Back home, BHEL is the top Sensex loser, down nearly 2% to Rs 245. Wipro, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, ONGC, HDFC, Sterlite Industries, HDFC Bank and Coal India have also opened weaker by 1-1.2% each.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Jindal Steel arwe among the notable gainers.

Sellindg pressure is visible across the board. Realty and banking stocks are amongst the worst hit. The BSE realty index is the top sectoral loser, down nearly 2% or 35 points at 1,855. Bankex, power, capital goods, PSU, consumer durables, IT, oil & gas and autio indices are also down 0.4-1% each.

Among the individual stocks, Polaris Financial Technologies has dipped 4.5% at Rs 128 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has barred Arun Jain, chairman and managing director of the company from the securities market for a period of two years for alleged insider trading in the company’s shares.

The broader markets are also trading lower. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are down 0.3% each.

The overall breadth is negative as 770 stocks are declining while 580 are advancing.