Weak trades continue, Sensex down 230pts

The markets continued to edge lower in late-morning trades with the BSE Sensex at 17,132, down 230 points and the Nifty at 5,151, down 70 points. Meanwhile, the markets are reacting to the September IIP data which indicates a slump to 1.9% as against 4.1% in August.

Earlier in the day, the BSE Sensex touched a low of 17,097.

Among the sectoral indices, BSE Metal, Bankex, Realty and Capital Goods indices, down nearly 3% each, are leading the losses.

Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel and SAIL, down 3-5% each, are the major losers from the Metals space.

ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank and Yes Bank, down 3-4% each, are the prominent losers among the financials.

On the Sensex, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Hindalco Industries, Larsen & Toubro and DLF, down 3-5% each, are the prominent losers.

The gainers from the pack are Sun Pharma Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Wipro and TCS, up 1-2% each.

Among the individual stocks, Mahindra Satyam has surged 4% to Rs 75.80 after reporting better-than-expected ten-fold year-on-year (y-o-y) jump in net profit to Rs 238.crore for the second quarter ended September 2011 on the back of strong demand for outsourcing services and rupee depreciation in recent months.

Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries have plunged nearly 5% each after reporting lower-than-estimated net profit for the second quarter ended September 2011 (Q2FY12) due to cost escalations and constraints in bauxite and coal availability in wake of the heavy monsoons this season.

Kingfisher Airlines has plunged 14% to Rs 18.65, extending Wednesday’s 9% decline, on cancellation of over 30 flights for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday.

Tata Communications is trading higher by 5% at Rs 197 in an otherwise weak market on reducing consolidated net loss to Rs 165 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, from a net loss of Rs 203 crore during the same period last fiscal. Total consolidated income grew 14% to Rs 3,374 crore on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.

The overall market breadth is negative as 1,706 stocks have declined against 693 advancing ones, on the BSE.