Markets remain weak; IT, banks weigh

The markets continued to trade on a weak note on back of selling pressure in the IT, banking, consumer durables and health care stocks. The Sensex was lower by 147 points at 19,387 and the Nifty was at 5806, lower by 56 points.

According to Deepak Singh Tanwar, a Mumbai-based technical analyst "The outlook for the index still remains negative though it did manage to cross its immediate resistance level of 5850."

Infosys was the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stock shed more than 4% and was trading at Rs 3236 after reporting weaker-than-expected numbers for the quarter ended December 2010. ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Jindal Steel, Hero Honda and BHEL were also among the other losers, down more than 1.3% each.

On the other hand, Reliance Communication, Reliance Infrastructure, Tata Motors, DLF, ONGC and Bajaj Auto, up more than 1% each.

On the sectoral front BSE IT index was the top loser the index shed more than 2% or 143 points at 6528. BSE Banking index- Bankex lost more than 1.6% or 212 points and was at 12,403. Teck, Consumer Durables, Helthcare and Metal indices were also trading in the negative zone. while, BSE Realty index was up 0.6% or 15 points at 2597. Power, Auto, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods indices were also trading in the green.

Infosys, Core Projects, Financial Technologies, Oracle Financial Services and HCL Tech were among the top losers on the IT charts. Among the banking stocks, Indusind Bank shed more than 2.8% and was trading at Rs 236, followed by Yes Bank, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, down more than 1.5% each.

Sobha Developers was the top gainer among the realty stocks, followed by Indiabulls Real Estate, HDIL, DLF, Phoenix Mills, D B realty and Unitech.

The broader markets were trading on a mixed note, the BSE mid-cap index was at 7387 up 18 points while the small-cap index was higher by 70 points at 9218.