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After a 0.5% cut on the benchmark indices in the opening trades, markets have gained some of the lost ground with the Nifty reclaiming 6,200 levels. At 0945 hrs, the Sensex was down 55 points at 20,833 and the Nifty was down 18 points at 6,203.
In the opening deals, markets started in the red with the benchmark indices lower by 0.5% each as risk aversion took center stage, in line with the negative global cues. This follows the 1% cut seen on the indices yesterday amid speculation that basket-selling by a few foreign institutional investors triggered the decline.
The Sensex was down over 100 points and the Nifty gave off the 6,200 ground to start lower by 33 points at 6,188.
Broader markets too started weak with both the mid and smallcap indices starting lower by 0.3% each.
Overnight, US stocks fell on their first day of trading in 2014 as investors booked profits in the wake of the S&P 500's best yearly advance since 1997, with many of last year's strongest performers down on the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.82%, at 16,441. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.89%, at 1,832. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.80%, at 4,143.
Asian share markets were under water after a sudden reversal in some very popular, and thus crowded, trades sparked a bout of global risk aversion.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed a sharp 1.3%, with markets from Shanghai to Sydney all in the red.
Shares in South Korea lost another 1.2%, though there the problem was one of a strong won and a weak yen undermining the competitiveness of the country's huge export companies.
Back home, except IT, Teck and Consumer Durables indices up 0.5% each, all the other sectoral indices were in the red.
Among the ones in the red, Auto index down 0.8% and Capital Goods down 0.7% were the top losers.
Bankex, Metal, Oil & Gas, FMCG and Health Care indices lost 0.1-0.2%.
Tata Motors, BHEL, Mahindra & Mahindra, L&T and Tata Power down 1-2% were the top losers among the Sensex-30 in opening deals.
SBI, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp , Hindalco, ITC and Sesa Sterlite down 0.6-0.9% were the other prominent losers.
Index heavyweight, Reliance Industries was down 0.5%.
Market breadth was marginally positive on the BSE. 599 stocks advanced while 515 stocks declined.
