Markets continue to trade on a weak note in the late morning deals. The Sensex has slipped 173 points to 16,985 and the 50-share Nifty has dropped 54 points to 5,151 levels.
Earlier in the day, the BSE benchmark index touched the day's high at 17,048 and the day's low at 16,971.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average slid to a five-week low on Monday morning, hit by renewed fears that Spain may require a full-blown bailout after two indebted regions requested financial aid. The index is down 1.4%. The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices are down 1-3% each.
Metal stocks are the worst hit in the trades. The BSE metal index has shed 2% or 227 points to 10,446 levels. Power, Realty and auto stocks are also under pressure, the respective indices have slipped nearly 2% each.
Shares of companies engaged in the retail business are under pressure on bourses on reports that the Samajwadi Party (SP), Left parties and JD(S) have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
Reliance Communications (RCom) has dipped 3% at Rs 62.05 after the Anil Ambani-promoted telecom firm said that it has put on hold the initial public offering (IPO) of its undersea cable unit, Flag Telecom, in Singapore due to adverse market conditions.
Crompton Greaves has dipped over 6% to Rs 122 on reporting lower-than-expected 8% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 85.9 crore for the quarter ended June 2012, due to higher material cost and employee benefits. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of Rs 102 crore from a heavy electrical equipment maker.
Maruti Suzuki is the top loser among the Sensex stocks. It has trading lower by 6% at Rs 1,0979 after the company declared a lockout at the factory. It is a first such instance in its history, but the company firmly ruled out the possibility of shifting operations to Gujarat.
Among individual stocks, Zee Entertainment Enterprises is trading higher by 3% at Rs 155, also its highest level since September 2009, in an otherwise weak market on reporting 21% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 157 crore for the quarter ended June 2012.
Godrej Industries is trading lower by 4% at Rs 236 ahead of its proposed qualified institutional buyers (QIB) issue, which opens tomorrow. “The securities issuance committee of the board of directors of the company has by a resolution dated July 21, 2012 fixed the price band at Rs 210 to Rs 235 per equity share for the proposed QIB issue,” Godrej Industries said in a filing.
Broader markets are also trading on a weak note. The BSE mid-cap index is down 0.7% and the small-cap index is down 0.4% at 6,648.
The overall breadth is negative as 1417 stocks are declining while 871 are advancing.
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