 "Markets end sharply lower; Nifty ends below 7,800")
The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended down 591 points at 25,602 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 184 points at 7,793.
ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and Axis Bank were the top Sensex losers along with RIL, L&T and HDFC among others.
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(Updated at 14:55PM
Benchmark share indices extended losses in noon trades on Tuesday, amid weak European cues, dragged by financials and select index heavyweights and profit taking in IT majors.
At 14:55PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 555 points at 25,635 and the 50-share Nifty was down 180 points at 7,796.
In the banking pack, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and Axis Bank were down 1.5-2.2% each.
Other Sensex losers include, L&T, HDFC and RIL among others.
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(Updated at 1:30PM)
Markets weakened amid profit taking at higher levels as traders turned cautious ahead of the expiry of September derivative contracts on Thursday. Further, weakness in European shares also dampened sentiment.
At 1:30PM, the Sensex is down 114 points at 26,079 and the Nifty has lost 41 points to trade at 7,935.
The broader markets were trading firm with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.2-0.7% each. The market breadth was strong on the BSE with 1,409 gainers and 940 losers.
"On the global front the continued uncertainty after the US Fed maintained status quo on interest rate citing global growth concerns is weighing on investor sentiment. Further, lack of confidence among market participants about prospects of a rate cut by the RBI at its policy meet next week has also dampened sentiment," said G Chokkalingam, Founder & MD, Equinomics Research & Advisory.
RUPEE
The Indian rupee trimmed some of its early gains and was trading at 65.66 to the US dollar up by 7 paise following sustained bouts of dollar selling by exporters and banks amid strength in the local equities.
MONSOON
The enhanced activity of the southwest monsoon across several parts of the country for the next three-four days is giving a breather to regions reeling under severe water deficiency, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) report.
STOCKS & SECTORS
IT index was the top sectoral gainer up 1.7% followed by Consumer Durables, Healthcare and FMCG indices. BSE Metal index was the top loser down 1.3% followed by Bankex, Capital Goods and Power indices among others.
IT majors which earn over 80% of their revenues from exports to the US were among the top gainers. TCS gained 0.7% after fixing 1 October 2015 as the record date for the scheme of merger with CMC.
Shares of Infosys gained 2.5% after the company secured a three-year contract to develop and maintain all global web-based properties of not for profit enterprise TOMS Shoes for an undisclosed sum. Wipro was up 1.6%.
Pharma stocks which had eased in the previous sessions rebounded today with Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy’s Lab up 0.7% each.
Hindalco was down 3%. Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd (ABML), a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries will sell its closed copper mine in Queensland, Australia, to Lighthouse Minerals Holdings Pty for A$15 million (Rs 70.5 crore) in cash and another A$41.7 million (Rs 196 crore) in rehabilitation bond costs.
NTPC eased over 2%. The company is targeting to begin production from Pakri-Barwadih coal block in Jharkhand this year and three more blocks in next two years.
Bharti Airtel slipped 2% on concerns that revenues may be hurt after the mobile major moved all its pre-paid subscribers across the country to pay-per-second, ensuring customers pay only for the time they use the network.
Bank shares are trading mixed with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank down 0.4-1% each while HDFC Bank and SBI were trading with marginal gains.
Among other shares, Amtek Auto has slumped 9% amid media reports that the company has missed payments to the tune of Rs 800 crore on its bonds that matured on Monday.
Castrol India was up nearly 1% at Rs Rs 440 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced the closure of its Wadala unit and also said that the closure does not have any impact on the company's financial performance or its operations.
MMTC surged nearly 5% after the government owned company informed the BSE that its board of directors had approved the proposal for sale of 10% stake in Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX), the now defunct bourse it jointly promoted with Indiabulls Financial Services.