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Markets slipped further in the negative territory as investors booked profits at higher levels after sharp gains yesterday following the Iran deal.
At 1300 hrs, the Sensex was down 102 points at 20,503 and the Nifty dipped 32 points to 6,083, dropping below the psychological 6,100 mark.
In the broader markets, the mid and the smallcap indices were flat as compared to the 0.3% fall seen on the Sensex.
Rupee
The rupee was trading marginally strong due to dollar sale by banks. At 1240 hrs, the rupee was trading at Rs 62.28 compared with previous close of Rs 62.50 per dollar. The rupee has a weakening bias due to month end dollar demand by importers, said currency dealers. But they added that sale of dollars by banks may protect the rupee.
Asian Markets
Asian shares rose for the third straight day on Tuesday, while oil prices regained some semblance of stability after the previous session's slide as traders questioned how quickly the Iranian nuclear accord could turn into higher supplies.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.3%, building on a 0.3% rise in the previous session and breaking above its 50-day moving average.
Tokyo's Nikkei benchmark bucked the region and eased 0.4% on the back of the yen's modest recovery. The benchmark climbed 1.5% on Monday to within sight of a 5-1/2 year peak reached in May.
Jakarta stocks shed 1%, while the Indonesian rupiah dropped 0.4% to 11,785 to a dollar, its lowest since March 2009, with traders citing dollar demand for month-end debt payments and repatriation.
Sectors & Stocks
On the sectoral front, Consumer Durables index was up 1% followed by Capital Goods and Power indices up 0.7-0.8%. Metal index was flat with a positive bias.
Meanwhile, IT, PSU, FMCG, Teck, Auto, Oil & Gas, Health Care and Bankex indices were down 0.2-0.5%.
The only gainers among the Sensex-30 were BHEL, Sesa Sterlite, HUL and Hindalco up 1.5-4%.
Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, Jindal Steel and Gail India which added 0.4-0.7% rounded off the gainers list.
Among the ones in the red, Tata Steel down nearly 2% was the top loser.
Dr Reddys Lab, ITC, Tata Motors, Coal India, Wipro, TCS, NTPC, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC and Infosys down 0.5-1.5% were the other prominent losers.
In individual names, after having hit the upper circuit of 20% on Monday, the stock price of Aban Offshore was up another 6%.
Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) has surged nearly 12% at Rs 162, in otherwise subdued market, on back of heavy volumes on the bourses.
The market breadth was negative on the BSE. 1149 stocks declined while 990 stocks advanced.
