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Markets slipped futher in morning trade as Rupee hit a record low of 62. At 1020hrs, the Sensex was down 2.3% or 438 points at 18,930 and the Nifty was down over 2.6% or 150 points at 5,592.
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(Updated at 1020hrs)
Markets started off on in the red on account of weak global cues, as signs of improvement in the U.S. job market and rising consumer prices cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will start reducing its stimulus next month.
In the opening trades, the Sensex was down 97 points at 19,269 and the Nifty slipped 32 points to 5,710. The ones weighing on the indices were Infosys, Reliance Industries and HDFC.
In the broader markets, the midcap index opened down 0.3% while the smallcap index was marginally up 0.05%.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks were weaker; gold was at two-month highs as traders debated what differing signals meant for the timing of any tapering of the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average was down 1.3% and was the top loser among the Asian markets followed by Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite, down 0.3% each.
Sectors and Stocks
Among the sectoral indices, FMCG was the only index holding in the green, up 0.2%.
Consumer Durables index which dropped 7% in opening deals was the top sectoral loser. Bankex, Realty, Metal, Capital Goods and PSU indices too started off lower by 1-2%.
The only gainers among the Sensex-30 were Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and Gail India which started up 1% each in an otherwise weak market.
Bharti Airtel gained as SingTel raised stake in the company for $384 million.
Cipla, Wipro, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma and ITC up 0.2-03.7% rounded off the gainers list.
Meanwhile, ICICI Bank, HDFC, L&T, Infosys, BHEL, Sterlite, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Power, SBI and Jindal Steel which started lower by 1-3%, were the major losers.
Also, shares of jewellery makers tumbled after the Reserve Bank of India banned imports of gold coins and medallions. Titan Industries, PC Jeweller, Rajesh Exports, Shree Ganesh Jewellery House and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) were down 2-11% in opening deals.
The market breadth was negative. 570 stocks declined while 362 stocks advanced on the BSE.
