The markets continued to trade in the negative territory after the IIP numbers were out. The Sensex was down 62 points at 18,322, and the Nifty was down 21 points at 5,500.
Meanwhile, the April IIP was reported at 6.3% as per the new series, and 4.4% as per the old series.
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(Updated at 1036 hrs)
The benchmark indices slipped in to the negative after briefly breaking into the green in the opening trades. The Sensex registered an intra day low of 18,308, down 91 points form the high thus far. Currently the Nifty is down 16 points at 5,504 and the Sensex lost 50 points at 18,334.
In the broader markets the midcap index pared its gains and is flat at 6,921 while the smallcap index holds ground up nearly 0.2% outperforming the Sensex which lost 0.3%
The IIP data is expected by 11:00 a.m today. The industrial output in Asia's third-largest economy probably rose 5.5% in April from a year earlier, moderated by successive interest rate rises which slowed manufacturing growth, the median forecast in a Reuters poll showed.
On the sectoral chart, only Heath Care and IT are trading in the green, up 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. Opening gainer Realty index along with Consumer Durables is flat while Capital Goods, Metals and Bankex indices have slipped into the negative. FMCG index continues to be the top laggard losing 0.8%.
Hindalco, TCS, ONGC and Wipro gaining between 0.4-1% are the top gainers in the second hour of trade.
The losers on the Sensex are Maruti Suzuki, ITC, Hero Honda, RIL and Reliance Infrastructure down 0.8-1%
The markets breadth remains positive. Of the total 2299 stocks traded on the BSE, 1171 stocks have advanced while 1024 declined.
