The markets continue to trade in the negative with the Sensex trading at 19,395 down 188 points and the Nifty lost 56 points to trade at 5,818 in the afternoon trades. Earlier the day, the Sensex had touched a low of 19,307 due to the strain in the heavyweights like Reliance Industries and HDFC. However, after the fall, the BSE benchmark moved north due to the buying interest witnessed in realty and IT space.
The broader markets on the other hand, continue to retain its gains. The smallcap index and the midcap index is down 0.4% in comparison to the Sensex which has lost nearly 1%. Among the sectoral indices, FMCG and Capital Goods down 1% each continue to lead the losses while Bankex and Power indices have advanced its gains. Realty and Health Care has witnessed some buying interest in the afternoon trades thus being the least affected in an otherwise negative market.
On the result front, ACC posted a decline of 10.9% in its net profit for the first quarter while UltraTech Cement, the largest cement firm, with installed capacity of about 49 million tonnes a year saw a 7.2% rise in its net profit. The reaction of the cement stocks were mixed as only five out of 13 scrips listed on the BSE are trading in the negative. The top gainers in this space are UltraTech Cement up 3%, Prism Cement gaining 2% followed by Mangalam Cement, India Cements and Ambuja Cement adding nearly 1% each.
The top gainers among the Sensex stocks are Hindalco, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communication up 1% each.
Among the losers on the Sensex are Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC down nearly 2% each. Reliance Infrastructure, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Power, HDFC Bank and L&T shedding 1% each are the other prominent losers.
The market breadth is negative. 1646 stocks have declined while 1094 advanced.
