Markets weaken further; Nifty slips below 6700

The markets have cracked further in noon trades due to broad-based selling pressure.

The markets have cracked further in noon trades, ignoring the positive vibes from the global bourses, due to broad-based selling pressure. The Sensex is quoting at 22,358, weaker by 126 points and the Nifty is at 6696, down 37 points. There is pain in the broader markets as well, with the midcap index at 7243, down 68 points and the smallcap index at 7420, down 80 points. All the sectoral indices are in the red, with the exception of the defensive FMCG pack.

 

The Sensex has been finding it difficult to scale new highs after hitting an all-time summit of 22,792 on April 10. The current session has been no different. The domestic markets had opened flat this morning, tracking the trend in SGX Nifty, due to caution surrounding FII inflows in the past two trading sessions. Data showed that overseas investors sold shares worth Rs 216.3 million on Tuesday, the second straight session of outflows. And the markets lost further ground in noon session, oblivious to the strength across the Asian and European fronts. 

 

The information technology pack is ruling weak in this session, ahead of the results from Wipro and Tcs. Wipro has weakened by 3% at Rs 570 to top the losers list on the BSE. Infosys is trading lower by 2.9% to Rs 3,165, extending its 3% decline, from Tuesday’s high on investor concerns about the company’s ability to bag lucrative contracts due to high attrition rate in the January-March quarter even as it posted a higher-than-expected net profit for the period. And TCS has lost 1.9% at Rs 2207.

 

On the other hand, ITC has gained 1.4% at Rs 345. The banking pack is also in the green, albeit off the gains registerd earlier in the day. ICICI Bank has added 0.4% at Rs 1223 and HDFC Bank has added 0.3% at Rs 726.

 

The market breadth is negative. Out of 2718 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 998 advancing stocks as against 1598 declines.