Markets trade weak, Sensex down 125pts

The markets plunged deeper into the red in late-noon trades owing to weakness in the global markets. The BSE Sensex is at 16,398, down 126 points and the S&P CNX Nifty is at 4,929, down 42 points.
Earlier in the day, the Nifty had reclaimed the 5,000 mark and touched a high of 5,006 in opening trades, before having slipped into the red shortly after.

Markets across the globe were trading flat as concerns about the Euro-zone officials actually being able to tackle the debt crisis resurfaced. Investors once again turned to the sidelines as details about efforts of the Euro-zone policy makers remained murky.

In Asia, the Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average advanced 0.1%, the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices slipped 1% each.

Meanwhile, the European markets performed weak after having opened flat. The CAC 40 index is at 2,979, down 2%, FTSE shed 0.8% to 5,252 and the DAX was down 1.2% to 5,563.

Back home, the sectoral indices BSE Capital Goods and Consumer Durables led the losses, having shed nearly 2% each.

BSE Metal witnessed profit booking seeping in after the rally on Monday. The index declined 2% to 11,227. On Monday, the markets had rallied on hopes that leveraging the European Financial Stability Facility will help the struggling European nations avert debt default for which countries would have to vote.

JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, SAIL, Tata Steel and Sesa Goa, down 3-6%, are the prominent losers from the Metals' space.

On the Sensex, JP Associates, Hindalco Industries, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Larsen & Toubro, down 3-4% each, are the prominent losers. DLF, ITC, ONGC, Infosys and NTPC, up 1-2% each are the major gainers from the pack.

The overall market breadth is negative as 1,658 stocks have declined agianst 1,030 advancing ones, on the BSE.