Markets trading flat with negative bias

FMCG, index heavyweights lead decline

Markets continue to trade marginally lower in late morning trades weighed down by profit taking in index heavyweights and FMCG shares.

At 11:20am the 30-share Sensex was down 28 points at 18,603 and the 50-share Nifty was down 6 points at 5,646.

All Asian share indices were  trading in the red amid rising debt concerns in Europe. Nikkei slipped as Standard & Poor's Corp cut its rating on Spain's long-term government bonds by two notches to BBB-, just one notch above junk status. The downgrade pushed the yen higher. The Nikkei, Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and Straits Times were all down between 0.1-0.4% each.
 
Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, FMCG and Auto were the top losers while Realty and Power indices were the top gainers.

FMCG shares were down on profit taking after recent gains. ITC and Hindustan Unilever were both down 0.8% each.

Auto shares were down after Society of Indian Automobile Manfacturers Wednesday said, car sales in India are seen growing just 1-3% in the financial year that ends in March 2013, as it slashed its previous estimate of 9-11% on high interest rates and slowing economic growth. Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra were down 0.5-1.6% each. Two-wheeler makers Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto were also down 0.6-0.8% on profit taking.

Realty and power shares witnessed buying at lower levels after they witnessed a sharp sell off in the previous three sessions. Tata Power and NTPC were up 0.1-0.8% each. In the realty space DLF was up 1.4% at Rs 216.

Infosys was down 0.5% at Rs 2,491 ahead of its results on Friday. The street consensus for the dollar revenue growth of the IT major is between 3.5-4%. HDFC Bank, which also comes out with results tomorrow, is up 1% at Rs 625.

Index heavyweight Reliance INdustries was down 0.5% at Rs 812 on profit taking after recent gains.

Among other shares, Shares of Vijay Mallya promoted UB Group companies are under pressure in morning trades on reports that the market regulator - Securities and Exchange Board of India (SebI) is seeking data of the group companies to verify insider trading.

Among the individual stocks, United Breweries Holdings has tanked 5% at Rs 127 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Kingfisher Airlines too, down 5% at Rs 10.90, while United Breweries and United Sprits are down by 3% each at Rs 660 and Rs 1,230 respectively.

Dish TV India has dipped 3% to Rs 78 after the company announced that it will offer a basic channel pack free of cost for all users who shift to their service from an existing cable TV connection in the four metro cities.

The broader markets were also trading flat with positive bias with the Mid-cap index up 0.2% while Small-cap index was trading flat.

BSE market breadth was weak with 1,193 losers and 1,037 gainers.