Cautious trades continue

Bank, IT shares decline

Markets continued to trade on a soft note after erasing early gains. The Sensex was up 48 points at 16,754. Nifty is up nine points at 5,073.

Asian markets traded soft with the Nikkei slipping 1% at 8,636. Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite dropped 0.4% each.

BSE bankex continued to reel under pressure after yesterday's RBI credit policy review. The central bank unexpectedly kept both interest rates and the cash reserve ratio unchanged. The index is down 1% at 11,115. IT index is also in red - down 0.7%, followed by consumer durables and metals. However, BSE FMCG and metal indices have shown some strengthy are trading with nearly 1% gains each.

Meanwhile, on Monday Fitch Ratings cut India's sovereign outlook to "negative" from "stable", saying growth potential would "deteriorate".

ITC has gained 2% at Rs 248. Sun Pharma and Cipla, from the pharma pack are up 1.3% each. Tata Steel, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp and Larsen & Toubro are up marginally as well.

On the other hand, Infosys has slipped 1.5% to Rs 2,472. Sterlite has dropped 1.5%. Tata Power and NTPC are down over 1% each. Fitch has lowered the credit rating outlook on NTPC.

Coal India has entered into fuel supply pacts with 27 power units, including Adani's Mundra Power plant in Gujarat. The stock is down 0.6% at Rs 337.

Shares of Reliance Communications has dipped 5% to Rs 61.80, after hitting its lifetime low, on reports that equity research firm Veritas has downgraded the stock to sell with the target price of Rs 15.