Sensex slips below 17,000

Marekts continue to reel under the selling pressure in the noon deals. The Sensex has slipped below the crucial psychological level of 17,000. The index is down 164 points at 16,957 and The Nifty is down 47 points at 5,148 levels.

According to Ravi Nathani, Technical analyst, Nsetoday.com, "Markets have two big events F&O expiry and financial year ending, therefore markets are expected to remain volatile for next 2-3 trading sessions. Technically speaking until Nifty does not close below 5,170 bearish trend would not be visible on the charts."

The Asian markets were also trading lower. The Hang Seng shed 345 points to 20,540. Nikkei was down 68 points at 10,114 and Shanghai slipped 33 points to 2,252 levels.

Back home, BHEL is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 2.3% to Rs 246. Tata Steel, ITC, Infosys, Cipla, Hindalco, Larsen & Toubro, TCS, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India, HDFC and ONGC are also trading lower by 1-2% each.

On the other hand, Coal India is trading higher by nearly 2% at Rs 36 on reports that the company's board will meet again today to approve the new draft fuel supply agreement for power plants as directed by the Prime Minster's office.

Hero MotoCorp and Jindal Steel are also among the some of the heavyweight stocks trading higher.

All the sectoral indices are trading lower. Capital Goods and IT stocks are amongst the worst hit in trades so far. The BSE Capital Goods index is the top sectoral loser, down 1.5% or 150 points at 9,844 levels. Alstom Projects is the top loser from this space, down 2.2% to Rs 342. BHEL, BEML, Siemens, Larsen & Toubro, Suzlon Energy and Bharat Electricals are also among the laggards from this space.

Due to selling pressure visible in the heavyweight IT stocks, the BSE IT index is also trading lower by 1.4% or 82 points at 5,939 levels. FMCG, Power, Bankex, PSU, Auto, Oil & Gas, Realty, Metal and Consumer Durable indices are also trading lower by 0.3-1.2% each.

Among the individual stocks, Panacea Biotec has gained in morning trades on launch of its new facility in Himachal Pradesh for the production of anti-cancer products.

Vaibhav Gems if trading nearly 6% higher at Rs 46.5 on the National Stock Exchange after its promoters acquired nine million shares for Rs 37.57 crore through an open offer. “The voluntary open offer was made to consolidate the promoter group's holding, the company said in a statement.

The broader markets are also facing mild of selling pressure. The BSE mid-cap index is down 26 points at 6,165 levels and the small-cap index is down 12 points at 6,463 levels.

The overall breadth is negative as 1,359 stocks are declining while 1,150 are advancing.