Markets have recovered and are currently trading flat after having kick-started the trading session on a week note. The BSE Sensex is at 16,121, down 30 points, while the Nifty is at 4,844, down 6 points .
In US markets, as investors shrugged off a positive US manufacturing report and focused on the worsening debt crisis in Europe, stocks finished at their lowest levels since September 2010. Investors' primary focus remains on Greece's attempts to deal with its deficit problems. Greece has slashed spending, reduced wages and raised taxes in an attempt to bring its debt under control.
The debt-ridden nation will miss key deficit targets for this year and next, according to the draft budget announced by the Greek cabinet late Sunday.
Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 258.08 points, or 2.36 per cent, to 10,655.30. The S-and-P 500 fell 32.19 points, or 2.85 per cent, to 1,099.23. The Nasdaq Composite lost 79.57 points, or 3.29 per cent, to 2,335.83.
In Asia, the Nikkei stock average dropped to a 6-1/2 month low on Tuesday as a sell-off in commodities pushed trading houses lower and the financial sector was pressured by fears that Europe's debt crisis is spreading. The index was down 2% to 8,406. Shares in Hong Kong are lower today as the Hang Seng falls 0.44%. The broader Topix index declined 2.2 per cent to 730.71, while KOSPI slipped over 5 per cent to 1679.The stock markets in Tokyo and Shanghai are closed at this time.
Back home, markets ended in the red yesterday, after recovering marginally from the day's low on weak cues from global peers. The Sensex opened weak, following selling pressure in the Asian markets. The Sensex touched a high of 16,256 and a low of 16,056. The index finally ended at 16,151 - down 302 points. Nifty lost 94 points to end at 4,850.
Technical analysts peg the support for the Nifty at 4,800– 4,720 and expect it to face resistance at 4,950 – 5,037 levels.
Among the sectoral indices, BSE Consumer Durables and Capital Goods indices were the major gainers, up 1% each.
VIP Industries, TTK Prestige and Blue Star, up 1-3% each, are the prominet gainers among the Consumer Durable stocks.
BSE Oil & Gas and Bankex indices are trading in the negative, down marginally.
Cairn India, Essar Oil, Reliance Industries and GAIL, down 1-2% each, are the prominent losers from the Oil & Gas space.
HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and SBI, down 1-2% each, are the major losers among the financials.
Among the Sensex 30 Stocks, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, DLF, Wipro and HDFC, down 1-4% each, are the major losers. Prominent gainers among the stocks include, Maruti Suzuki, JP Associates, BHEL, Bajaj Auto and Larsen & Toubro, up 1-2% each.
The overall market breadth is positive as 619 stocks have advanced against 545 declining ones, on the BSE.