The markets were trading near the day’s low in late morning trades as Japan's credit rating downgrade by Moody's continued to weigh. The BSE Sensex touched a low of 16,405 and was hovering around 16,410, down 134 points. The S&P CNX Nifty drifted 37 points lower to 4,912.
Heavyweights Infosys, ITC, TCS and Jindal Steel were dragging the Sensex down by almost 50 points. Tata Power, Jindal Steel, TCS, Wipro and Coal India, down 2-4% each, are the major losers among the pack.
Among the sectoral indices, BSE IT is the major laggard at 4,827, down 1.4%. TCS, MphasiS, Wipro and Infosys, down 1-2%, are the key losers. BSE TECk and Metal indices also slipped a percent each.
However, Cipla has gained a percent at Rs 286. The other prominent gainers include Hindalco, HDFC, DLF and Sterlite Industries, up a percent each.
Among individual stocks, Tata Chemicals is trading higher by 1.3% at Rs 354 after the company acquired a stake in EPM Mining Ventures, Canada. Tata Chemical's wholly owned subsidiary, Gusiute Holdings has entered into an agreement with EPM Mining Ventures. EPM will issue one unit to Gusiute Holdings at a price of Canadian $16,000,000, the company said in a press release.
India's largest car manufacturer,Maruti Suzuki is trading lower by 1% at Rs 1,147 after the board of directors approved a final dividend of Rs 7.5 per share. Among other stocks, Aventis Pharma logged gains of over 6% at Rs 2,154 after the company said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Universal Medicare's marketing and distribution busiess for branded nutraceutical formulations in India.
The overall market breadth is positive as 1,596 stocks have advanced against 788 declining ones on the BSE.
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