Markets remain soft

The markets continue to trade on a soft note in noon trades with the BSE Sensex having shed 96 points at 18,762 and the Nifty at 5,630, down 31 points. The bourses are dealing in line with the Asian markets that are currently trading on a soft note. The Hang Seng index is down 0.92% at Rs 22,518, the Nikkei is down 0.75% at 10,062 and the Shanghai COmposite index is currently at 2,806, up 0.30%.

The top gainers on the BSE include Mahindra & Mahindra at RS 732, up 2.13%, ITC at RS 203, up 1.52% and ONGC at RS 279, having gained 1.14%. The losers include Hindalco Industries at RS 181, down 3.74%, on reports that the Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, has denied permission for the company’s mining activity in the Mahan block of the Singrauli coalfield in Madhya Pradesh. Wipro follows at RS 424, down 1.43% and Maruti Suzuki comes next at Rs 1,168, having shed 1.41%.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE IT, BSE TECk and BSE Metal are the ones dragging the markets down, with each having shed 1.71%, 1.46% and 1.22%, respectively. Infosys is the major loser among the BSE IT Sector as it is currently trading at Rs 2,902, down 2.56%, ahead of its Q1FY12 results, expected tomorrow.

BSE FMCG sector, BSE Consumer Durables and BSE Auto are among the top performers, comparatively. BSE FMCG is trading at Rs 4,072, up 0.79%, BSE CD is at Rs 6,926, up 0.74% while BSE Auto is at Rs 9,134, having advanced 0.35% on hopes of better sales numbers in the next month.

Things are mixed for the broader markets, with the BSE Mid-cap index having advanced 0.09% at Rs 6,990 and the BSE Small-cap index having shed 0.07% at Rs 8,369.

The overall market breadth is negative with 1,321 stocks declining and 1,212 stocks advancing out of a total of 2597 traded on the BSE.