Markets slip into the red; IT weighs

Weakness in IT and FMCG majors weigh on the indices; Infosys, TCS and ITC slip 0.5-3%

Markets slipped into the negative terrain in noon deals, down nearly 300 from day highs on the Sensex, on account of increasing weakness in IT and FMCG majors. At 1315 hrs, the Sensex was down 14 points at 18,232 and the Nifty was at 5,398, losing three points.

Profit booking was visible in the broader markets. The midcap and smallcap indices slipped from morning highs and were up between 0.6-0.7%.

Among the sectoral indices, Bankex continued to be the top gainer, up 3% along with Consumer Durables, Capital goods and Realty indices up 1.5-1.8%.

Meanwhile, IT and Teck indices were down 1.5% each. Metal, FMCG, Health Care and Oil & Gas indices too were in the negative, down 0.1-0.9%.

The major losers among the Sensex-30 were Infosys, Sterlite and Dr Reddys Lab down 2-3%. NTPC, TCS, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma down 1-2% were the other notable losers.

FMCG majors, ITC and HUL were down 0.5% each.

Oil & Gas major, Reliance Industries, too was down 0.4%.

Among the gainers, BHEL continued to be the top gainer, up 5% along with financials like HDFC Bank, HDFC, SBI and ICICI Bank up 1.6-3.5%.

All the auto majors - Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors were up 0.5-1.9%.

The market breadth was positive. 1168 stocks advanced while 809 stocks declined on the BSE.