Sensex moves downwards; RIL upbeat

After opening on a soft note, the Sensex has moved downwards with the BSE index shedding 114 points to trade at 18,324 and the Nifty lost 39 points at 5,479. In the broader markets, the midcap index down 0.5% and the smallcap index losing 0.3% outperform the Sensex which is down 0.6%

Among the BSE sectoral indices, there is not much change since the opening trades. Oil & gas has pared some of its initial gains but continues to be the only sector in the green, gaining nearly 2%. On the other hand, Auto, Bankex,Capital Goods  and PSU down 1% each are the top losers.

RIL up nearly 4% after its partnership with the world’s fourth-largest energy company,BP, remains the top gainer among the Sensex- 30 stocks followed by Wipro and Sterlite up 1% each. Bajaj Auto, Reliance Communications and TCS adding 0.05%- 0.1% round off the gainers list.

On the losing side are Hero Honda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and HDFC Bank down 2% each.

The market breadth is very negative. Of the total 2160 stocks traded on the BSE, 1255  stocks have declined while 814  have advanced.