Markets languish in late morning deals

Markets continued to trade on a subdued note with the Sensex dropping over 200 points at 17,282. Earlier in the day, the index had touched a low of 17,261. Nifty is down 68 points at 5,255.

Asian markets continue to be in the red with the Nikkei slipping 1% 9,591. Shanghai Composite has dipped half a per cent to 2,295.

Metal, power and bankng shares continued to exert pressure. BSE metal index is down 2.4% at 11,082, followed by capital goods, power and bankex.

Markets heavyweight, Reliance has slipped for the second straight day. Analysts expect the oil & gas major to report weak Q4 earnings as refining margins and output from its KG-D6 basin have fallen recently.

Banking stocks were in the red. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have dropped 2% and 0.7%, respectively. SBI has slipped 2% at Rs 2,117. The bank's Managing Director A Krishna Kumar said over the weekend that the bank is aiming for growth of 20% to 25% in credit and deposit in financial year that began April 2012.

Larsen & Toubro is down 2.5% at Rs 1,312. L&T Construction has commissioned India's largest solar photo voltaic based power plant (40 MWp) owned by Reliance Power at Dhursar village in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

From the metal space HIndalco has tumbled 3.7%, JIndal Steel and Sterlite have shed 3% each while Tata Steel is down 2.3%. AMmong other losers are BHEL, GAIL, And Maruti Suzuki.

However, DLF has added 1.2% to Rs 207. Tata Power, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto and TCS are in the green.

BSE market breadth was negative. Out of 2,411 stocks traded, 1,335 have declined while 975 shares have advanced.