The markets have opened in the red on the back of weak global cues. The Sensex is down 35 points at 18,276 and the Nifty has broken the crucial 5,500 mark and is trading at 5497, down eight points.
There were no positive cues from the global markets. The Dow fell 134 points or 1.3% to 10,040 and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 36 points or 1.6% at 2,124. This was their lowest level in seven weeks as there was an unexpectedly large drop in home sales which ratcheted up concerns that the economic recovery is even weaker than had been feared. In light of these developments overnight, the Asian markets too opened in the red. Hang Seng is down 49 points or 0.2% at 20,610 and the Niikkei opened 1% down or 90 points at 8,905.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, FMCG up 0.2% leads the chart for the second consecutive day. Health Care, Teck, Oil & gas and Capital Goods are the indices in the green. Metal and Realty, down 0.7% each, continue to languish at the bottom for the second consecutive day. The movers in the FMCG space are Ruchi Soya and Dabur India, up 1% each, followed by Hindustan Unilever and Godrej Construction gaining 0.6% each.
The gainers on the Sensex in the opening trade are ITC, up 0.6% at Rs 161; Reliance Infrastructure and Hindustan Unilever have added 0.4% each and TCS and Jindal Steel has inched up 0.2% each. On the other hand, the losers are Sterlite, Tata Steel,DLF and Hindalco down 1% each, followed by Wipro, SBI and Tata Power.
The market breadth is positive; 866 stocks have advanced while 755 declined.