The markets ended today's session on a weak note dragged by selling pressure witnessed by the heavyweight stocks. The Sensex slipped 246 points to provisionally close at 18,692 and the Nifty closed weaker by 71 points at 5,676 levels.
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(Updated at 1440 hours)
Markets have extended losses in the late noon deals on the back of selling pressure visible in the heavyweight pockets. The Sensex has slipped 170 points to 18,769 and the 50-share Nifty is down 58 points at 5,689 levels.
Meanwhile, the European markets were trading on a weak note as concerns over the global economic outlook and its impact on the coming corporate earnings season weighed on investor sentiment.
The World Bank cut its estimate for East Asian growth including for China, and this has undone some of the positive sentiment that followed Friday's sharp drop in US unemployment for September.
The CAC40 index was down 1% at 3,418, DAX slipped 1.3% to 7,302 and the FTSE100 index was also trading in the red at 5,827 levels.
The Asian markets ended on a weak note. The Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite and Seoul Composite closed weaker by 0.6-1% each.
Back home, Cautioning that absence of economic reforms will slow down growth, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said political parties may oppose but should not obstruct decision making.
"Every government is entitled to lay down policies. Opposition to policies is legitimate, obstructionism is not," Chidambaram said while addressing the annual Economic Editors' Conference.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries is the top Sensex loser, down 4% at Rs 822 after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the company to 'underweight' from 'equal-weight' due to lack of near-term triggers, expectations for weaker refining margins and valuation.
Hindalco, Tata Power, tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, SBI, BHEL, Wipro, Infosys, ONGC, Coal India, ICICI Bank are also trading lower by 1-3.4% each.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Jindal Steel, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, ITC, Dr Reddy's Lab and Sterlite Industries are among the notable gainers from the heavyweight space.
Selling pressure is visible across the board. The BSE realty index is the top sectoral loser, down 3% or 59 points at 1,890. Oil & gas, capital goods, consumer durables, IT, auto, bankex, PSU, metal and power indices are also down 0.3-2.3% each.
Among the individual stocks, Balaji Telefilms has rallied 17% to Rs 58.35 on back of huge volumes on the National Stock Exchange.
Geometric Limited has rallied 5% to Rs 123 after the company said that Indian equity investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala acquired an additional 3.39% stake in the company via open market transactions.
Kingfisher Airlines has hit the lower circuit of 5% at Rs 12.60 for the sixth consecutive trading session, after the aviation regulator - Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) - issued a show cause notice to the company asking why its permit should not be cancelled or suspended as it had failed to “establish a safe, efficient and reliable service".
The broader markets are also trading on a weak note. The BSE mid-cap index is down 0.2% at 6,661 and the small-cap index is down 0.1% at 7,136.
The overall breadth is negative as 1,470 stocks are declining while 1,330 are advancing.
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