Markets continue to trade on a weak note in the early noon deals on the back of selling pressure visible in the heavyweight pockets. The Sensex has slipped 63 points at 18,728 and the 50-share Nifty is down 16 points at 5,702.
Meanwhile, the broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index is up 0.2% or 15 points at 6,722 and the small-cap index has gained 0.4% or 30 points at 7,222.
The Asian markets are also under pressure as markets consolidated gains from a three-day rally, while the euro remained underpinned by easing tension over the euro zone's debt crisis.
Global shares dipped on Thursday, with the U.S. market down on technology stocks, which took a hit from a surprisingly weak earnings result by the world's No.1 Internet search engine Google.
Back home, GAIL India is the top Sensex loser, down 1.5% at Rs 363. Bharti Airtel, Jindal Steel, HUL, Hindalco, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, Tata Power, Larsen & Toubro and Cipla are also among the losers down 0.6-1.3% each.
On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's Labs, Infosys, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and ITC are among the notable gainers.
Most of the sectoral indices are trading in the red. The BSE oil & gas index is the top sectoral loser, down nearly 1% or 58 points at 8,444. Power, metal, capital goods, PSU, teck, FMCG and bankex indices are also down 0.2-0.6% each. While, consumer durables, IT and healthcare indices are trading higher.
Among the individual stocks, Mahindra Satyam (formerly Satyam Computer Services) and Tech Mahindra have extends their yesterday’s fall and trading lower by 2% each after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached fixed deposits worth of Rs 822 crore lying with Mahindra Satyam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for a period of 150 days.
Gujarat NRE Coke has surged 12% to Rs 20.10 on reporting more-than-double net profit at Rs 16.72 crore for the quarter ended September 2012. The company had a profit of Rs 8.04 crore in previous year quarter.
The overall breadth is neutral as 1,322 stocks are advancing while 1,115 are declining.