The markets have opened in the red due to a dismal set of cues from the global front. The Sensex is quoting at 17913, lower by 43 points and the Nifty is at 5378, down 15 points.
Disappointing consumer sentiment data and anemic revenues from GE and two big banks slammed US stocks on Friday, with the Dow dropping 261 points and Nasdaq losing 70 points. And the Asian markets are trading weak this morning, with the exception of China; Hang Seng has lost 168 points and Nikkei has shed 277 points in early trades.
The top losers on the Sensex are DLF (weakened by 1.7% at Rs 314), ICICI Bank (lower by 1.2% at Rs 891) and Sterlite (down 1.2% at Rs 164). Tata Steel, Infosys and Jindal Steel are the other major losers. And index heavyweight RIL has edged lower by 0.2% at Rs 1060.
On the other hand, HDFC Bank has strengthened by 0.4% at Rs 2047, HDFC has gained 0.3% at Rs 3031 and NTPC has added 0.3% at Rs 198. BHEL, Hindustan Unilever and ITC have also registered marginal gains.
There is strength in the broader markets though. The mmidcap index is at 7407, higher by 10 points and the smallcap index is at 9473, up 30 points. And the market breadth is positive. Out of 1574 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 873 advancing stocks as against 643 declines.