Markets have witnessed a gap down opening on back of negative global cues. The Sensex opened lower by 201 points at 16,884 and the Nifty opened lower by 59 points at 5,079.
Overnight, US stocks fell and the euro edged lower on Wednesday after optimism faded that European leaders will make substantial progress on resolving the euro zone debt crisis at their summit meeting this weekend.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report suggesting the US economic outlook was barely growing in September also dampened sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 75.49 points, or 0.65%, at 11,501.56. The Standard-and-Poor's 500 Index was down 15.63 points, or 1.28%, at 1,209.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 54.41 points, or 2.05%, at 2,603.02.
The Asian markets were also trading in the red. Hang Seng was down 327 points at 17,981, Shanghai was down 43 points at 2,334, Nikkei was at 8,692, lower by 80 points and Taiwan shed 65 points to 7,288. SGX Nifty was also trading lower by 50 points at 5,096.
Back home, ICICI Bank was the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 2.4% to Rs 882. Wipro shed 2% to Rs 350. DLF, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, HDFC, SBI, Coal India and Tata Steel were also trading lower by 1-2% each.
On the other hand. Bajaj Auto was trading higher by 0.7% at Rs 1,648 ahead of its second quarter results to be announced later today.
Selling pressure was visible across the sectors. Metal and banking stocks were amongst the worst hit in the opening deals. The BSE Metal index was the top sectoral loser, down 1.3% at 11,172. BSE Bankex also shed 128 points to 11,137.
Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, IT, Power, Realty, Consumer Durables, PSU and Auto indices were also trading lower by 0.7-1% each.
The broader markets also edged lower. The mid-cap index was down 33 points at 6,161 and the small-cap index was at 6,877, down 21 points.
The overall breadth was negative as 830 stocks were declining while 459 stocks were advancing.