Key benchmark indices witnessed selling pressure through out the trading session and ended on a weak note. The BSE Sensex ended (provisional) at 17,042, down 320 points while the Nifty ended at 5,180, down 98 points.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Updated at 1426 hours)
The markets remained under pressure in afternoon trades and continued to trade on a weak note. The Sensex is at 17,081, down 281 points and the Nifty is at 5,199, down 80 points.
Earlier in the day, the BSE benchmark index touched the day's high at 17,378 and the day's low at 17,066.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average edged higher, recovering from last week's retreat, as investors bought metal shares and picked up laggard blue chips, with a softer yen continuing to underpin market sentiment. The Nikkei closed 0.1% higher at 10,018 points after logging its biggest one-day percentage fall in two months on Friday, while the broader Topix index was down 0.1% at 852. The Shanghai Composite index ended marginally higher at 2,351, while the Hang Seng remained unchanged at 20,669.
Meanwhile, European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.17%, while the CAC 40 is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.52% and 0.32% respectively.
Back home, all the sectoral indices are in the red. BSE Realty, Bankex, PSU, Metal and Oil & Gas indices, down 1-3% each, are leading the losses.
DB Realty, HDIL, Unitech and DLF, down 3-8% each are the major losers from the Realty space. Unitech declined over reports that the real-estate developer sought the Company Law Board's approval to move a case on a dispute over their telecom joint venture with Norway's Telenor to an arbitration panel, potentially escalating the row.
From among the financials' ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Canara Bank, down 3-4% each, are the notable losers. According to media reports, the Reserve Bank of India will monitor banks’ overseas operations of Indian banks, which have expanded their global operations substantially in the past few years. “SBI, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda are among the prominent banks that will face the RBI inspection as some banks have as high as a fifth of their total assets beyond the shores,” the report suggests.
ICICI Bank, Tata Power, DLF, NTPC and Cipla, down 3-4% each, are the prominent losers, from among the Sensex 30 stocks. Wipro and Hindustan Unilever, up marginally, are the gainers from the pack.
Shares in Reliance Industries were hit by concerns about its exploration and production (E&P) business, primarily due to continued regulatory uncertainty over the development of its KG-D6 block. Output from KG-D6 has been declining for more than a year, resulting in a sharp fall in India's gas output and forcing the country to resort to increased imports of expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG). The stock is trading at Rs 734.50, down 1.3%.
The overall market breadth is negative as 1,892 stocks have declined against 836 advancing ones, on the BSE.