 "Nifty hovers around 7,550; Sesa Sterlite top loser")
Markets continued to trade weak in late trades dragged down by index heavyweights amid geopolitical tensions overseas.
At 14.30 PM, the 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty dipped 1% at 25,332.73 and 7,570.00 level respectively.
Foreign funds were net sellers to the tune of Rs 73 crore on Thursday, as per the provisional data on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
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The broader markets underperformed benchmark share indices as the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap tumbled over 2%.
Meanwhile, the market breath on the BSE was negative as 2,083 shares declined and 680 shares advanced .
Around the globe:
Asian shares tumbled on Friday as investors sought out safe-haven assets on growing fears that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could sap global growth, extending losses after US President Obama authorised air strikes in Iraq.
Better-than-expected export growth from China pulled markets off their lows, but failed to offset all the gloomMSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off its lows but was still down about 0.9%, on track for a weekly loss of around 1.6%. Japanese shares witnessed a sell-off dropping to a 2-month low. The benchmark Nikkei ended down 3.07% at 14,778.37. Among others in the region, Hang Seng and Straits Times were down 0.3-0.6% each. However, Shanghai Composite was trading marginally higher.
European shares were trading lower tracking weakness in global stocks while the Russian ban on food and agricutural imports from the West also weighed on sentiment. CAC-40, DAX and FTSE were down over 1-1.3% each.
Crude:
Crude soared more than a $1 to $98.45 a barrel, after closing at its the weakest level since February on Wednesday. It was last up about 0.6% at $97.96, while Brent crude rose 0.9% to $106.39 a barrel.
Rupee:
The rupee was trading at 61.38/39 after hitting 61.74, its weakest since March 5 but still below Thursday's close of 61.22/23. Traders say foreign banks spotted selling the greenback, causing the rise from session lows. The pair seen holding in 61.20 to 61.60 range rest of the session.
Sectors & buzzing stocks:
All the sectoral indices at the BSE are trading negative. The BSE Realty, Bnakex, Capital Goods, Power, Metal, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Auto indices slumped between 1-4% each.
Sesa Sterlite was the top Sensex loser as the scrip plunged over 4%. Other shares of metal companies like Hindalco, Tata Steel and Coal India slipped between 2-4% each.
Capital goods major BHEL and L&T also dipped between 2-3% each.
Among the oil and gas companies, Reliance, GAIL and ONGC shed between 1-2.5% each.
Dr Reddy’s Lab, ITC, Bharati Airtel and TCS are the only gainers on the Sensex.
Bhushan Steel, Vardhman Textiles, Indiabulls Real Estate, IL&FS Transportation Networks, Jubilant FoodWorks, Trent, Voltas and Unitech declined in the range of 5-10%, while Hikal, Puravankara Projects, C Mahendra Exports, Cressanda Solutions, Pantaloons Fashions and Retail, Kothari Products, Bombay Dyeing and Dhanlaxmi Bank from small-cap index plunged between 7-12%.
Shares of Bombay Dyeing were down 8% at Rs 67 after the company's net loss during the quarter ended June 30, 2014 nearly doubles on account of higher material and finance costs.