Markets stumble on lingering Chinese woes

The BSE metal and banking indices have shed about 1% each, while the pharma stocks are in fine fettle this morning.

The markets have kicked off the first trading day of the week on a weak note, tracking the weakness in China and the mixed cues from the other Asian markets.

At 9.35am, the Sensex was at 26,260, weaker by 131 points or 0.5% and the Nifty was at 7,968, down 33 points.

In the broader markets, the midcap and smallcap indices are trading virtually unchanged at 10,765 and 10,965 respectively. The market breadth is weak. Out of 1,307 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 511 advancing stocks as against 744 declines.

Meanwhile, the government will release gross domestic product (GDP) data for Q1 June 2015 today, 31 August 2015.

In other news, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a daily report issued on Sunday that for the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon season was 12% below the Long Period Average (LPA) until 30 August 2015.

RUPEE

The rupee opened lower by 11 paise at 66.25 per dollar against Friday's close of 66.14 a dollar.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Global cues are mixed this morning. The Shanghai Composite is down more than 3% on fears of more volatility in Chinese markets. The Nikkei, Straits Times, Hang Seng and Taiwan are also down 0.1-1.5% each. However, the SET and Jakarta indices are trading higher by 0.5% each. The US stocks had ended on a mixed note on Friday as fears about a global economic slowdown due to China tested sentiment.

SECTORS AND STOCKS

On the sectoral front, the BSE metal pack has shed about 1% with Vedanta and Tata Steel losing 2% and 1% respectively.

The BSE banking index has also shed about 1%, with SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Indus Bank losing 1% each.

On the other hand, the pharma stocks are in fine fettle, with Sun Pharma, Cipla and Lupin gaining around 1% each. ONGC has also gained 1% in early trades.