Markets recovered from the low levels in the noon deals on back of renewed buying visible in the IT, FMCG and banking stocks. The Sensex was at 16,547, up 101 points and the Nifty was higher by 28 points at 4,974. Earlier in the day, the markets opened in the red and the Sensex touched the low of 16,316.
According to Ashish Chaturmohta, Vice President ( Derivatives & Technical Analyst), IIFL Wealth, "currently market is trading in a crucial range of 4850-5050 levels, breaking below 4850 levels on closing basis may lead to intense selling in the market."
Meanwhile, the European markets have opened in the red. The CAC40 index opened at 2,983, down 0.4%, FTSE opened at 5,185, down 0.6% and the DAX opened lower by 19 points at 5,558.
Back home, More than 100 stocks including Larsen and Toubro, Sun TV Network, Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Jet Airways have hit 52-week lows on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on concerns of slowdown in net profit growth.
J P Associates was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 4% to Rs 73. HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, ONGC, ITC, ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever also added 0.3%-2.3% each in trades thus far.
On the other hand L&T was the top loser on the benchmark index. The stock was down 3.5% to its 52 week low price at Rs 1,355. Sterlite Industries, State Bank of India, Coal India, Tata Motors, DLF, Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp were also trading lower by 0.8%-1.8% each.
BSE IT index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.5% or 78 points to 5,310. Bankex advanced 1% or 112 points to 11,007. FMCG, Auto, Power and Oil & Gas indices were also among the losers on trhe sectoral charts. At the same time consumer durables and capital goods stocks reeled under the selling pressure. Both the indices were trading lower by 1.6% each. Metals, Healthcare and Realty indices were also among the laggards.
Infosys was the top gainer among the IT stocks, up 2.25% to 2,530. Financial Technologies, HCL Technologies, TCS and Wipro were also among the prominent gainers. Among the consumer durable stocks, Gitanjali Gems was the top loser, down 4% to Rs 335. It was followed by Videocon, VIP, Titan Industries, TTK Prestige, Whirlpool and Rajesh Exports.
The broader markets were trading marginally in the red. The BSE mid-cap index shed 26 points to 6,149 and the small-cap index was at 6,929, down 20 points.
The overall breadth was negative as 1,434 stocks were advancing while 1,041 stocks were advancing.