The Sensex continue to trade in the negative, down 114 points at 19,177 and the Nifty lost 32 points at 5,752.
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(Updated at 1309 hrs)
Negative moves continued, as the Sensex slipped 76 points to 19,216, and the Nifty let off 17 points at 5,768. The Sensex remained in a range of approximately 140 points since opening today.
Hindustan Unilever was the top gainer amongst the Sensex components up 2.5% at Rs 286, followed by Maruti Suzuki at Rs 1,324 up 2% and BHEL at Rs 2,016 up 1%. Reliance Communications, Jaiprakash Associates, ITC, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank were among the other significant gainers, up 1% each.
Larsen & Toubro at Rs 1,628 was the top loser on the Sensex, while Jindal Steel at Rs 664 and HDFC Bank at Rs 2,294 were down 2% each. MAhindra & Mahindra also shed 2%, while Hero Honda, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Hindalco Industries, DLF and ONGC declined 1% each.
Subdued trades continued in the broader markets, with the Mid-cap index at 7,158 and the Small-cap index at 8,810, both down marginally in the negative.
The FMCG index remained on top of the sectoral indices list up more than 1% at 3,769, followed by the HEalthcare index at 6,251 up 1%.
Conversely, the Capital Goods index shed 1.5% at 13,205, while the Realty index slipped 1% to 2,208.
Banking stocks remained weak ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy review due May 3, in which, it is expected, key short-term interest rates will be raised by a minimum of 25 basis points in an effort to reign in sticky inflation numbers. The Bankex declined nearly 1% at 13,205.
Key stocks that declined on the Bankex included Union Bank at Rs 326 down 4%, Bank of India at Rs 466 down 3.2%, Axis Bank at Rs 1,298 and Bank of Baroda at Rs 916 both down more than 2.5%. HDFC Bank at Rs 2,291 and IDBI BAnk at Rs 145 declined 2% each, along with IndusInd Bank at Rs 263.
Market breadth was fairly negative with 1,590 declines versus 1,100 advances.
