The global cues have taken their toll on the Indian bourses in morning trades. The Sensex is quoting at 16717, down 344 points and the Nifty is at 4989, lower by 105 points
Wall Street had ended weak due to increased bank regulation in the US & tighter monetary policy in China.
And the steep fall in the US has dragged the Asian markets as well. The Hang Seng is weaker by 348 points and the Nikkei has lost 295 points in early trades.
L&T is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, having shed 4.2% at Rs 1460. The engineering behemoth had lost 6% on the previous day following the disappointing December results. Tata Power has weakened by 3.4% at Rs 1310 and Jaiprakash Associates has shed 3.2% at Rs 146.
Index heavyweight, Reliance, has given up 1.8% at Rs 1034 ahead of its Q3 results.
DLF, Sterlite and Sun Pharma are the other prominent losers.
Bharti, which is also due to announce its results today, is the only Sensex gainer. The telecom major has added 1.1% at Rs 325.
The market breadth is exremely weak. Out of 1548 stocks traded on the BSE, there are a mere 164 advancing stocks as against 1362 declines.