 "Markets slip into red after positive opening")
Markets are likely to consolidate this week as investors will remain cautious ahead of key macroeconomic data such as industrial production and inflation which is expected in the early part of the week. The December IIP data on Tuesday and January wholesale price index (WPI) inflation figure on Thursday will be in focus.
India’s third national-level stock exchange, the MCX-SX, will go live with equity cash and derivatives trading from today. The Financial Technologies-promoted bourse was inaugurated by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday. MCX-SX will trade 1,116 equity stocks on its platform under the permitted category rules.
In the US markets, strong economic data buoyed global equity markets, lifting the Nasdaq to a 12-year closing high and the S&P 500 to a five-year high, while the yen soared after Japan's finance minister said its recent drop had gone too far, too fast.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.35 percent at 13,993. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX closed up 0.57 percent at 1,518. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.91 percent to 3,194.
In Asia, almost all the major markets are closed for the day on account of Chinese New Year holidays.
Back home, on the sectoral front, BSE FMCG and Metal indices have slumped by almost 1% each followed by counters like PSU, Power, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods, all declining marginally. BSE Consumer Durable index has gained by almost 1% followed by counters like IT, Healthcare, Auto, TECk and Realty, all gaining marginally.
The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include DRL, Tata Motors, Cipla, Wipro and Sun Pharma, all surging between 1-2%.
On the losing side, Hero Moto, ITC, Tata Power, Bharti Airtel and CIL have slipped between 1-2%.
Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index has inched up by 0.13% whereas BSE Smallcap index is up by 0.23%.
The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 745 shares advancing and 608 shares declining.