Weakness contiuned to dodge the markets, as the Sensex traded in a narrow band in the negative. In the noon session, the Sensex was quoting at 18,334 down 136 points, while the Nifty slipped 48 points at 5,483.
Concerns over rising crude prices dampened market sentiment. On the Sensex, Hindalco Industries at Rs 208, Tata Power at Rs 1,203 and ICICI Bank at Rs 1,015 all down 2% were the major losers.
Reliance Communications, which surged 9% at close yesterday on positive news of the sales of its tower assets, was the top gainer at Rs 101 up 2%, followed by Hero Honda at Rs 1,565 and Reliance Infra at Rs 632 also up 2% each.
The Auto index was the only sectoral index trading in the positive, although it was flat at 8,874 up hardly 0.2%.
Gainers on the index were Amtek Auto at Rs 114 and Hero Honda at Rs 1,559 both up 2%, followed by Maruti Suzuki at Rs 1,285 up 1%.
Banking stocks saw a bit of selling pressure, and the index was down 1.2% at 12,304.
The major losers in this space were IndusInd Bank at Rs 240, ICICI Bank at Rs 1,015 and Canara Bank at Rs 610, all down 2%.
Metal stocks were also under pressure, with the index trading at 15,692 down 1%.
JSW Steel at Rs 942 down 3%, Hindalco Industries at Rs 208 and Jindal Steel at Rs 655, both down 2%, were the major losers on the index.
The broader markets, although flat, out-performed the benchmark, with the Mid-cap index at 6,601 and Small-cap at 8,009.
With 1,136 and 1,405 declining stocks, the market breadth was negative.