Mid-cap, small-caps languish

Markets dropped further. The Sensex touched a low of 16,858. The index has recovered marginally and is now down 203 points at 16,934.

The Nifty is down 65 points at 5,082.

Most sectoral indices are still in red. The BSE metal index is languishing at 16,166 - down 2.8%. realty, bankex and IT are also down.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices have underperformed the broader index. The mid-cap index has dropped 1.5% to 6,919 . Small-caps are down 1.7% at 8,853.
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(Updated at 0923 hrs)

Markets have opened down on weak cues from global markets.

The Sensex opened down 34 points at 17,103. The index, thereafter, dropped below the 17K mark and touched a low of 16,869. It is now trading with a loss of 240 points at 16,897.

The Nifty is down 85 points at 5,063.

The US markets ended in the red on Tuesday as Greece debt concerns continued to weigh on markets. The Dow ended at 10,926, weaker by 225 points or 2%, Nasdaq closed at 2424, lower by 74 points or 2% and S&P shut shop at 1173, down 28 points or 2%.

Asian markets are also in red this morning, mirroring cues from US markets. The Hang Seng has slumped 403 points (2%) to 20,360. The Taiwan Weighted and the Shanghai Composite are also down around 2% each.

All sectoral indices are in red this morning. Among them, metal index has plunged 3.3% to 16,082. Consumer durable, realty, capital goods and auto indices are down around 2-3% each.

Jaiprakash Associates has tumbled 4.3% to Rs 134. Reliance Infrastructure has dropped 1.7% to Rs 1,064.

Metal stocks are weak. Sterlite and Tata Steel have shed over 3% each to Rs 747 and Rs 561, respectively. Hindalco has declined 1.7% to Rs 160.

Auto stocks are in red. Hero Honda and Mahindra & Mahindra have slipped 2% each to Rs 1,877 and Rs 507, respectively. Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki have dropped 1.3% each.

Other losers include ICICI Bank, Reliance Communications, Larsen & Toubro, BHEL, HDFC Bank and Infosys. Market heavyweight, Reliance is down 1% at Rs 1,010.

However, Hindustan Unilever has bucked trends and is up 1% at Rs 235.