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Benchmark indices are trading lower during late noon trades on account of profit booking amid weak European cues. Index heavy weights ITC, HDFC and ONGC are contributing the most to the decline on the 30-share Sensex.
At 2.40PM, the 30-share Sensex is down 73 points at 26,348 and the 50-share Nifty shed 17 points at 7,880.
In the broader market, action was seen in small-caps with the Small-cap index up 0.9% while the BSE Mid-cap was up 0.1%.
Market breadth is positive with 1,597 gainers and 1,257 losers on the BSE.
Across the Globe:
Asian stocks were steady on Wednesday after strong US housing data lifted Wall Street shares, helping nudge Treasury yields higher and keeping the dollar well bid against the euro and yen.
Global equities have attracted funds in recent sessions on expectations major central banks, including the US Federal Reserve will continue to retain their easy money policies for a while.
Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.1% and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.
European markets are lower today with shares in France off the most. The CAC 40 is down 0.44% while Germany's DAX is off 0.38% and London's FTSE 100 is lower by 0.35%.
Back home, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 559.39 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Rupee:
The Indian rupee was trading lower after the US dollar firmed up against other Asian currencies while the weakness in the domestic stock markets also weighed on sentiment. The rupee was trading at Rs 60.73 compared to the previous close of Rs 60.67.
Sectors and Stocks:
On the sectoral front, BSE Healthcare index is leading the rally up over 3% followed by Power, IT and Teck indices. However, Auto, Capital goods, FMCG, Oil & Gas and Realty indices are losing sheen on the BSE down between 0.5-1%. Bankex is down 0.2%.
Auto shares which had gained the most in the recent rally are losing sheen on profit booking. Hero Motocorp, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors are down between 0.4-1.3%. Following a recovery in sales and a turnaround in the commercial vehicles (CVs) segment, equity fund managers have raised exposure to the stocks of automobile and auto ancillaries companies.
Banking space is witnessing heavy selling with Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI down between 0.2-1%. Further, public banking stocks came under selling pressure in trade after DNA, a Mumbai-based financial daily, reported Rs 436 crore scam. Dena Bank lost 4.2% to Rs 61 and Oriental Bank of Commerce shed 3.5% to Rs 265.
Oil and Gas majors GAIL and ONGC have lost nearly 2%.
FMCG space is trading weak with HUL and ITC down between 0.7-1.5%.
Bharti Airtel which gained during the early trades has lost 0.75 on profit taking.
HDFC, L&T, RIL and Sesa sterlite are some of the prominent names in red down between 0.5-1%.
On the flip side, fresh buying is visible in the defensive stocks.
Shares of pharmaceutical companies are on a roll with most of the frontline stocks are trading multi-year highs on the bourses.
A strong operational performance during the recently concluded quarter and weaker rupee against the dollar has fuelled the rally in pharma stocks.
Cipla, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin, Cadila Healthcare, Aurobindo Pharma and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals from the frontline pharma stocks are up in the range of 2-4%, quoting at their lifetime highs on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Wipro, India's third-biggest software services exporter has gained 1%. The company is in tie-up talks with three startups. However, Infosys is trading marginally in green.
Power stocks are witnessing value buying during the late trades. Tata Power and NTPC have surged 2% and 1%, each.
Among other shares, Arvind Limited has moved higher to 7% to Rs 253 after the textile firm announced its entry into the e-commerce space with the launch of a custom clothing brand, Creyate.
Lumax Industries has zoomed 12% to Rs 428, extending its 17% rally in past three trading sessions on National Stock Exchange, after reporting robust earnings for the quarter ended June 2014 (Q1FY15).
Glenmark Pharma came off its day’s highs and is trading firm after the company said it has entered the oncology segment with the discovery and initiation of IND enabling studies of a novel clinical development candidate, GBR 1302, a HER2xCD3 bispecific antibody.
