Markets trading lacklustre

Metal stocks amongst the worst hit

Markets are trading on a lacklustre note in the morning deals. The Sensex has slipped 19 points to 17,659 and the Nifty is down 11 points at 5,338 levels.

Meanwhile, metal stocks are amongst the worst hit in trades so far. The BSE metal index is the top sectoral loser, down 2% or 179 points at 10,098. Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco and Coal India are the top losers among the Sensex stocks from the metal pack.

Among the individual stock, HCL Infosystems has rallied 15% to Rs 41.60 on reports that Lenovo, the world’s second largest PC maker, is in talks to buy out the promoter stake in the company for around Rs 500 crore.

Shares of Wockhardt, Mastek, SKS Microfinance, Heidelberg Cement India and Fame India have tanked more than 5% each after the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has decided to shift these stocks to trade-to-trade (T2T) segment.
--------------------------------------------------
(Updated at 9.20 AM)

Markets have opened on a flat note in trades today tracking subdued global cues ahead of the F&O expiry for the month of August which is due later this week today. The Sensex has opened higher by 26 points at 17,705 and the S&P CNX Nifty opened higher by 9 points at 5,359.

Overnight, Dow slipped 33 points to 13,124 as the Federal Reserve said that it was releasing quarterly unaudited results of its operations. In Asian markets, indices are trading with a negative bias as the Nikkei and Hang Seng have slipped 0.3 per cent each. Shanghai Composite continued to slump nearly 2 per cent.

Asian markets are trading on a subdued note as investors waited for a gathering of central bankers and economists at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later in the week for clues over the Federal Reserve's potential easing options. Hang Seng is down 28 points at 19,770, Nikkei has slipped 44 points to 9,041 and the Shanghai is trading flat at 2,056 levels.

Back home, Tata Power is the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 2% to Rs 99. Infosys, Cipla, TCS, GAIL India, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, HUL and Dr Reddy's Labs are also among the gainer.

On the other hand, Tata Motors is the top loser from the heavyweight space, is has shed 2% to open at Rs 236. BHEL, Sterlite Industries, Reliance Industries, Coal India, Jindal Steel, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Auto and HDFC are among the laggards in trades today.

On the sectoral front, the BSE IT index is the top gainer, up 0.5% at 5,778. FMCG, teck and healthcare indices have also opened in the green. At the same time, realty index is the top loser, down  1% at 1,536. Consumer durables, capital goods, auto, metal, bankex and PSU indices have opened lower by 0.3-0.9% each.

The broader markets are also witnessing the selling pressure. The BSE mid-cap index is down 35 points at 6,022 and the small-cap index has slipped 22 points at 6,489 levels.