Markets under pressure, Sensex down 150pts

Markets continued to reel from the selling pressure in the noon deals. Selling was visible across the sectors. The Sensex was at 16,775, down 158 points and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5,040, weaker by 44 points.

Meanwhile, the European markets have also opened lower adding to the worries in the Indian markets. CAC 40 index opened at 2,945, weaker by 2.8%, FTSE opened at 5,286, down 1.5% and the DAX was at 5,444, down 129 points or 2.3%.

Back home, all the Sensex stocks barring Wipro were trading in the negative territory. Sterlite Industries was the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down nearly 3% to Rs 130. ICICI Bank shed 2.2% to Rs 861. Larsen & Toubro, Cipla, Sun Pharma, DLF, ONGC, HDFC, State Bank of India, Bajaj Auto, J P Associates, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, NTPC and Hindalco were  also trading lower by 1-2.3% each in trades thus far.

The capital goods stocks were amongst the worst hit on the sectoral charts. The index slipped 1.6% or 192 points to 11,857. Bankex was weaker by 142 points or 1.3% at 10,985. Metal, FMCG, PSU, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, IT, Healthcare and Auto stocks also reeled under the selling pressure. At the same time, Consumer Durable stocks witnessed a wee bit of buying. the index advanced 0.4% or 24 points to 6,636.

Larsen & Toubro, Usha Martin, Punj Lloyd, Siemens, BEML, SKF India and BHEL were the top losers among the capital goods stocks, down 1-2.3% each. Among the banking stocks ICICI bank was the top loser, down 2.2% to Rs 861. It was followed by Axis Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank and Punjab National Bank.

The broader markets were trading marginally in the red. The BSE mid-cap index shed seven points to 6,382 and the small-cap index declined two points to 7,210.

The overall breadth was neutral as 1,286 stocks were declining while 1,219 stocks were advancing.