 "Nifty below 7,700 tracking mixed global cues")
Markets trimmed losses but continue to remain choppy with negative bias dragged by financials and pharma shares. However, downside is limited due to buying among auto shares.
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By 10:02 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was lower by 60 points at 25,270 and the Nifty50 slipped 12 points at 7,703. Broader markets are outperforming- BSE Midcap and the Smallcap indices are up 0.1%-0.4%.
In the currency front, the rupee shed another 8 paise to 66.79 against the dollar in early trade.
Top losers from the Sensex pack are Lupin, RIL, ICICI Bank, NTPC and HDFC. On the gaining side, Hero Moto, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Adani Ports and L&T are up 0.5%-1.5%.
Kalpataru Power Transmission has rallied 9% to Rs 220 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company announced that it has secured orders worth Rs 1,320 crore from Power Grid Corporation.
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Updated at 9:45 am
Benchmark indices are trading lower in early trades weighed down by financials and pharma shares. Market players will remain cautious ahead of the extended weekend. Markets will remain closed on Thursday and Friday on account of Holi and Good Friday.
By 9:40 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was lower by 99 points at 25,232 and the Nifty50 slipped 21 points at 7,694. Broader markets are outperforming- BSE Midcap index is trading flat and the Smallcap index is up 0.2%.
On Tuesday, markets ended higher for third straight day as indices reversed all its losses amid late buying in index heavyweights HDFC and RIL. Benchmark indices witnessed selling pressure till late afternoon trades on account of profit booking at higher levels while the terror attack at an airport in Brussels also dampened sentiment.
"The “7,600-breakout” move has met with some reduced enthusiasm in the last two days, putting a cloud on the 7,800/7,832 upside objective previously envisaged. Significantly, yesterday’s dips were held at crucial retracement levels, suggesting that the upward move is still in play. A direct fall below 7,660 could however, cast doubts on the upside prospects, “adds Geojit BNP Paribas morning report.
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Besides, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,095 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 930 crore yesterday.
Among overseas markets, Asian shares consolidated their gains on Wednesday, shaking off earlier losses following attacks on the airport and a rush-hour metro train in Brussels as investors looks to a brightening global economic picture.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2% but clung near 3 1/2-month high hit earlier this week while Japan's Nikkei inched up 0.1%.
Wall Street shares were mixed on Tuesday. The S&P 500 lost 0.09% while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.27%.
Back home, Reliance Jio might delay the launch of its much-awaited mobile broadband service (4G) to the end of this year. Shares of Reliance Industries are down 1%.
Other notable losers are Lupin, HDFC, Sun Pharma, NTPC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI.
Reserve Bank is likely to go for a 50 basis points rate cut next fiscal year and out of this 25 bps cut may be affected in the policy review meet next month amid slackening economic recovery, says a report.
Mahindra & Mahindra group announced its entry in the branded dairy products business on Tuesday. Shares of M&M are down by almost 1%.
FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever have extended losses on profit taking after they gained in the previous session on hopes that the release of salaries and pensions to government employees under the seventh pay commission would boost consumption. Further, ITC has hiked prices of pack of 10 cigarettes by about 31%.
On the gaining side, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Hero Moto and GAIL are up 0.4%-1%.
With Reuters input
