Nifty has slipped below the crucial psychological level of 5,200 on the back of intense selling pressure visible across the board. Subdued opening of the European markets have also added to the worries of the India equities. The Nifty is down 80 points at 5,198 and the Sensex is down 221 points at 17,140 levels.
The European markets have opened on a subdued note. CAC and DAX have opened marginally lower while the FTSE is trading higher with marginal gains.
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(Updated at 12:55 PM)
Markets continue to reel under the selling pressure in the noon deals. The Sensex is down 220 points at 17,142 and the Nifty has shed 68 points at 5,209 levels. Realty, banking and power stocks are amongst the worst hit in trades so far.
According to Hormuz Maloo, Technical Analyst, Geojit BNP Paribas Securities, "The Nifty has been in a medium term decline since mid-February. It is quite likely that it may slip below 5,000. The Nifty still remains above its 200 DMA which is currently around 5,150. This is a support but I would not be too surprised if it is broken."
Most of the Asian markets are trading on a subdued note. Hang Seng is up 22 points at 20,691, Nikkei is up 7 points at 10,018. However, Shanghai has slipped 3 points to 2,346, and Taiwan is down 109 points at 7,967 levels.
Back home, Tata Power is the top loser among the Sensex stocks. The stock has shed nearly 4% to Rs 96. ICICI Bank is also the major dragger, down 3.5% to Rs 879. NTPC, DLF, TCS, BHEL, Tata Motors, Sterlite Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel are also trading lower by 1.5-2.5% each.
On the other hand, Wipro and ITC are among the couiple of gainers on the BSE benchmark index.
Barring FMCG index all the sectoral indices are trading lower. The BSE Realty index is the top sectoral loser, down 2.2% or 40 points to 1,750 levels. HDIL is the top loser from this space, down 4.5% to Rs 91. DB Realty, Phoenix Mills, Godrej Properties, DLF, Unitech, Oberoi Realty and Prestige Estates are also trading lower by 2-3% each.
Bankex has also shed 1.6% or 193 points at 11,667. Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Union Bank, Canara Bank, PNB and Bank of India are among the top losers from this space.
Power, PSU, Auto, Oil & Gas, IT, Consumer Durables and Capital Goods indices are tradin lower by 1-1.5% each.
Among the individual stocks, Godrej Properties is trading lower by 3% at Rs 641 after the company has fixed an issue price at lower price band of Rs 575 for allocation of equity shares under the Institutional Placement Programme (IPP).
The broader markets are also trading lower. The BSE mid-cap index is down 55 points at 6,295 and the small-cap index has shed 48 points to 6,578 levels.
The overall breadth is extremely negative as 1,729 stocks are declining while 850 are advancing.
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