Markets close in the red with the Sensex down 118 points at 17,160 and the Nifty shed 35 points at 5,208 (provisional)
______________________________
(Updated at 14:35 hrs)
Markets continue to trade in the red in the afternoon deals as financials and capital goods continue to remain under pressure. At 2.30 pm, The Sensex was down 103 points at 17,175 and the Nifty lost 33 points at 5,210.
However, broader markets managed to retain its gains with the midcap and the smallcap indices down 0.1% outperforming the Sensex which shed 0.6%.
Asian shares eased as investors took profits and scrambled to cover shorts after positive U.S. earnings failed to dispel pessimism about the creaky global economy as more disappointing data emerged. Except Hnag Seng and Taiwan Weighted all the other Asian markets closed in the negative. Nikkei down 1.4% was teh top loser along with Shanghai Composite and Jakarta Composite losing 0.6-0.7%.
The European markets too were in the red with CAC, DAX and FTSE down 0.1-0.3%.
Back home, among the sectoral indices, Bankex and Capital Goods down 1% each were the top draggers. Power, Health Care, Realty and Oil & Gas indices down 0.6-0.7% were the other notable losers.
Meanwhile, Consumer Durables, Metal and Auto indices gained 0.2-0.4%.
From the banking counter, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI down 1-3% were the major draggers.
In the Capital Goods space, BHEL and L&T down 1-2% weighed on the index.
Among the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Maruti Suzuki and Jindal Steel up 1-2.5% were the top gainers.
Among the losers were Dr Reddys Lab down nearly 3%, extending its previous day’s around 1% fall, on reporting a slightly lower-than-expected 28% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 336 crore for the quarter ended June 2012.
Cipla, ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Gail India, Tata Power and Wipro down 1-1.5% were the top losers.
The market breadth was negative on the BSE. 1556 stocks declined while 1139 stocks advanced.