Markets extend losses, IT drags

BSE IT, Auto, Metal and FMCG indices down 1-2%

Benchmark Indices have extended the losses led by weakness among IT, Auto and FMCG shares. Sentiment also remain subdued on US fiscal cliff issues amid escalating protests in Greece over austerity measures taken by the government to curb burgeoning debt menace.

By 10:45, the Sensex was 149 points down to 18,469, while the National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) Nifty index was down 45 points at 5,622.

On the global front, Asian stocks mostly fell on Thursday as investors reacted to the prospect of drawn-out negotiations over the looming U.S. "fiscal cliff" by shedding riskier assets, but Japanese equities bucked the trend as a sharp slide in the yen lifted exporters' shares.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9percent, with shares in South Korea, Australia and Hong Kong all losing 1 per cent or more. Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9percent as the boost given to exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Canon Inc. by a slide in the yen the previous day outweighed global concerns.

Back home, the rupee lost 19 paise to hit a fresh two-month low of 55.07 against the dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on continued demand for the American currency from importers.

On the sectoral front, BSE IT, Auto, Metal, FMCG, TECk, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Power, Banks and PSU indices are down 1-2%.

The main losers on the Sensex at this hour include Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tata Steel, Wipro and ITC, all falling between 1-2%.

Among other shares, GMR Infrastructure Ltd, the operator of Indra Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, slumped over 3% on Thursday after posting a threefold increase in net loss at Rs 179 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, compared to the net loss of Rs 62.5 crore for the corresponding period last year.

Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular, country's two major mobile-phone services providers spiked over 3% on Thursday after winning bids in the second-generation (2G) mobile-phone airwaves auction process.

Wockhardt is trading higher by almost 3% at Rs 1,750 after reporting that its consolidated net profit surged over three-fold to Rs 453.55 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2012.

The market breadth in BSE remains weak with 1,342 shares declining and 822 shares advancing.