 "Markets at day's lows, Nifty below 6,200")
Markets extended losses and were trading at their day's lows in noon trades amid profit taking in index heavyweight Reliance Industries and auto major Tata Motors. Further, IT majors continued to exhibit weakness amid profit taking after recent gains in the run up to the second quarter earnings.
At 12:45PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 182 points at 20,683 and the Nifty continued to trade below 6,200 and was down 56 points at 6,147.
Most Asian markets shed early gains and slipped into negative terrain except for Straits Times which was up 0.1%. Shanghai Composite was down 1.2%, Hang Seng lost 0.1%, and Nikkei was down 1.5%.
The rupee is off highs on dollar bids from state-run banks for defence purchases of the government, other importers. The USD/INR pair is at 61.47, off 61.05 highs. The unit closed at 61.66 per dollar on Tuesday. Weakness in stocks is also hurting the USD/INR pair, says a dealer.
BSE Realty index was the top loser among the sectoral indices on the BSE down 1.7% followed IT, Auto, Power, Oil and Gas indices.
Profit taking was seen in IT majors after recent gains in the run up to the second quarter earnings. Further, the appreciating rupee against the US dollar also dampened sentiment.
In the Sensex pack, Infosys, Wipro and TCS were down 1-4.5% each contributing the most to the losses.
Other losers include, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Sun Pharma.
Among other shares,Shares of Just Dial have rallied over 11% to Rs 1,068 on NSE, also new high since its listing, on back of strong buying by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
The broader markets were marginally down with BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices down 0.1-0.3% each.
Market breadth was weak with 1,158 losers and 958 gainers on the BSE.
At 12:45PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 182 points at 20,683 and the Nifty continued to trade below 6,200 and was down 56 points at 6,147.
Most Asian markets shed early gains and slipped into negative terrain except for Straits Times which was up 0.1%. Shanghai Composite was down 1.2%, Hang Seng lost 0.1%, and Nikkei was down 1.5%.
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European markets also opened lower on Wednesday with the CAC-40, DAX and FTSE down 0.2-0.3% each.
The rupee is off highs on dollar bids from state-run banks for defence purchases of the government, other importers. The USD/INR pair is at 61.47, off 61.05 highs. The unit closed at 61.66 per dollar on Tuesday. Weakness in stocks is also hurting the USD/INR pair, says a dealer.
BSE Realty index was the top loser among the sectoral indices on the BSE down 1.7% followed IT, Auto, Power, Oil and Gas indices.
Profit taking was seen in IT majors after recent gains in the run up to the second quarter earnings. Further, the appreciating rupee against the US dollar also dampened sentiment.
In the Sensex pack, Infosys, Wipro and TCS were down 1-4.5% each contributing the most to the losses.
Other losers include, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Sun Pharma.
Among other shares,Shares of Just Dial have rallied over 11% to Rs 1,068 on NSE, also new high since its listing, on back of strong buying by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
The broader markets were marginally down with BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices down 0.1-0.3% each.
Market breadth was weak with 1,158 losers and 958 gainers on the BSE.