Markets which had firmed ahead of the RBI second quarter monetary policy review erased all gains as investors booked profit at higher levels after the central bank kept repo rate unchanged but reduced the cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points to 4.25%.
At 11:04AM the 30-share Sensex which had touched a high of 18,718 was down 72 points to 18,563 and the 50-share Nifty which had touched a high of 5,690 was down 26 points at 5,639.
In the Sensex pack, L&T, SBI, Tata Motors, ITC, Reliance, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and HDFC were the top losers.
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(Updated at 10:23 hrs)
Markets are trading on a listless note ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's credit policy announcement which is due later in the day today. The Sensex is up 18 points at 18,654 and the 50-share Nifty is up 11 points at 5,678.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel is the top Sensex gainer, up 1.4% at Rs 273. ICICI Bank, Infosys, HUL, Dr reddy's Labs, Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI, Sterlite Industries and HDFC are also trading higher by 0.5-1.3% each.
On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, ITC, Coal India and Reliance Industries are among the laggards from the heavyweight space.
Among the individual stocks, Bombay Dyeing has soared 8% to Rs 115 after stock turned ex-stock-split today.
The board of directors had fixed October 31, 2012 as record date for the purpose of sub division of the equity shares of the company having face value of Rs 10/- into 5 equity shares having face value of Rs 2/- each.
SKS Microfinance has slipped 5% to Rs 114 after reporting a net loss of Rs 262 crore for the quarter ended September 2012 as compared to loss of Rs 39 crore in previous quarter due to higher provisioning. It had incurred a loss of Rs 385 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has dipped 4.5% at Rs 1,200 in opening trades on reporting 36% year-on-year fall in its net profit at Rs 80 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012.
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(Updated at 9.16 AM)
Markets have opened on a flat note ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's credit policy which is to be announced later in the day today. The Sensex has declined 13 points to open at 18,622 and the 50-share Nifty is down 3 points to open at 5,662.
Meanwhile, the Asian markets were also trading on a subdued note after a powerful hurricane curtailed activity in U.S. markets overnight, while the dollar held gains against the yen ahead of a widely expected policy easing by the Bank of Japan later in the session.
U.S. stock index futures fell in a shortened session on Monday and cash equity trading was cancelled as Hurricane Sandy began to batter the U.S. East Coast. Trading was thin in U.S. foreign exchange, fixed income, precious metals and energy markets as public transportation was shut in New York. Hang Seng was down 17 points at 21,494, Shanghai Composite was up a point at 2,060 and the Nikkei was up 36 points at 8,966.
The US markets are likely to remain closed today as well.
Back home, BHEL continues to face the heat of selling pressure consecutively for the second day. The stocks has opened weaker by 1.2% at Rs 224. Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, oal India, Sterlite Industries, Cipla, index heavyweight Reliance Industries, Hero MotoCorp and Bharti Airtel are also among the losers, down 0.3-0.8% each.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Labs, ICICI Bank, Tata Power, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, SBI, Jindal Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the gainers, up 0.3-0.6% each.
Most of the sectoral indices have opened flat. The BSE oil & gas, capital goods, power and PSU indices have opened weaker buy 0.1-0.4% each. While, realty, bankex, IT, healthcare and FMCG indices have opened higher by 0.1-0.3% each.
The broader markets are also trading flat. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are up 0.2% each.
The overall breadth is positive as 637 stocks are advancing while 369 are declining.