The weakness continues to persist on the Indian bourses on back of the heavy selling pressure seen in the metal, banking and auto stocks.
The BSE benchmark indices Sensex is currently at 19,756 lower by 178 points and nifty is at 5923 down 53 points.
Meanwhile, 22 scrips are declining among the BSE 30, while 8 are advancing. HDFC Bank is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, trading nearly 3% down at Rs 2284 levels. HDFC, Tata Motors, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries are lower by more than 1.5% each. On the other hand, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, DLF and Cipla are among the few gainers.
Metal and banking stocks continue to remain under pressure consecutively for the second day in a row. The BSE metal index is the top loser among the sectoral indices and has shed 246 points or 1.6% at 16,430. Among indivisdual scrips, Welspun Corp and Jindal Saw have tanked over 2.5% each. Tata Steel, SAIL, Sesa Goa and Hindlaco are also trading in negative turf.
In the banking pack, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Union Bank are among the key losers. The BANKEX has shed 1.3% or 172 points to 13,303 levels in noon trades.
However, the Oil & Gas stocks have managed to recover from the day's low with HPCL (up 4.5%), BPCL (2.9%) and IOC (up 3.2%) registering smart gains on the back of reports of a hike in auto fuel prices. BSE PSU index is also trading in the green.
The broader markets continue to trade weak with the BSE small-cap index trading down 90 points, while the BSE mid-cap index is down 52 points at 7719. The BSE 500 market breadth is also negative as 343 stocks are declining while 151 stocks are advancing.
Midfield Industreies, SVC Resources, Uflex, Comfort Intech and Prraneta Industreis are the top losers on the small-cap index, down nearly 10% each. Jain Irrigation, Money Matters Financial Services, Shree Ashtvinayaka Cine Vision, Sintex Industries and Corporation Bank are among the top mid-cap losers that are down more than 4% each.
