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Most Asian markets remained shut today as well. However, Nikkei added 2.3% at 11,409. Kospi, meanwhile was unchanged at 1,949. The euro edged up from a two-week low, while oil and European equities slipped from multi-month highs on Monday. US markets also closed in the red.
The rupee today fell by 12 paise to 53.97 against the dollar in early trade, extending losses for the fifth straight session at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market due to sustained demand for the US currency from importers.
Broader markets underperformed this morning. BSE mid-caop index was down 0.6% at 6,700. Small-cap was down 0.3% at 6,749.
"If the nifty does drift down further, I would expect large cap to correct too...one thing is evident from the screen, FII money is only flowing into large cap and also good management stocks," says Anil Manghnani, Chairman, Modern Shares & Stock Brokers.
From the sectoral pack, BSE realty index has slumped 5.7% to 2,047. IT, power and metal shares have also shown some weakness.
ONGC is trading higher by 3% at Rs 317 after reporting a better-than-expected net profit at Rs 5,563 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012 (Q3) due to lower than expected subsidy sharing. Analyst on an average expected profit of Rs 5,243 crore from the state-run oil exploration and production company. Dr Reddys, Sun PHarma and Bajaj Auto also gained 1% each. Among other key movers are financials such as ICICI Bank, HDFC and HDFC Bank.
On the other hand, Jindal Steel dropped 2% to Rs 398. Sterlite, Infosys and Tata Power shed 1.5% each.
BSE market breadth is negative. Out of 2,097 stocks traded, 1,175 stocks declined while 834 stocks advanced.
