Markets remain weak

Markets continue to remain under the selling pressure in the noon deals. The Sensex has shed 109 points to 17,488 levels and the Nifty is down 38 points at 5,320 levels.

According to Somil Mehta, senior Technical Analyst (Equity) with Sharekhan, "Medium term remains positive but in the short term nifty seems to be negative for a target of 5150 levels, key resistance would be around 5400."

The Asian markets were also trading lower, Nikeei slipped 230 points to 9,819 and the Taiwan shed 102 points to 7,760 levels. Hang Seng and Shanghai markets are closed for trades today.

Back home, Gail India is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 3% to Rs 370. Jindal Steel, ICICI Bank, DLF, Bharti Airtel, Sterlite Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC, L&T and Sun Pharma are also trading weaker by 1-3% each.

On the other hand, BHEL, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Power, Hindalco, ONGC, Wipro, Hero MotoCorp and TCS are among the notable gainers.

Realty, metal and banking stocks are amongst the worst hit in trades so far. The BSE Realty index is the top sectorasl loser, down 2% or 37 points at 1,785 levels. Sobha Developers is the top loser from this space, down 4.4% to Rs 315. Unitech, HDIL, DB Realty, DLF, Anat Raj Industries and Parsvnath Developer are also trading lower by 1-4.3% each.

The Metal and Bankex indices are also trading weaker by 1.2% each at 11,330 and 11,871 levels, respectively. From the metal space, Sesa Goa, SAIL, JSW Steel, Bhushan Steel, NMDC, Hindustan Zinc and Tata Steel are among the top losers and among the banking stocks, ICICI Bank is the top loser, down 2.3% to Rs 887. Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank and IDBI Bank are also among the losers.

Among the individual stocks, Kingfisher Airlines is trading higher by 5% at Rs 17.60, extending its 10% rally on reports that the beleaguered carrier's employees withdrew their proposed agitation accepting its promoter Vijay Mallya's assurance for a staggered payment of their salary dues starting today.

The broader markets are trading on a subdued note. The BSE mid-cap index is down 17 points at 6,458 levels and the small-cap index is up 2 points at 6,819 levels
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The overall breadth is negative as 1,336 stocks are declining while 1,196 stocks are advancing.