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Benchmark share indices extended losses to hit over six-week lows with the Sensex slipping below 27,000, amid weak Asian cues, weighed down by selling pressure in financials and metal shares.
At 11:25AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 457 points at 26,862 and the 50-share Nifty was down 132 points at 8,087.
The Indian rupee continued to trade weak against the US dollar. The rupee was trading lower at Rs 63.47 as markets in the region fell after Russia announced a sharp rate hike further raising concerns about the global economy at a time when India's trade deficit is already widening.
On the macro- economic front, at $16.86 billion, India's trade deficit widened to 18-month high driven by over six-fold jump in gold imports. In November last year, trade deficit was $9.57 billion.
Further, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation fell to zero in November, compared with 1.77% the previous month, primarily on account of a sharp fall in global commodity prices.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian equities worth Rs 455.72 crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
The BSE Metal index was the top loser down over 3% followed by Realty, Bankex and Consumer Durables among others.
Metal shares were among the top losers because of weak China factory growth in November. Sesa Sterlite was down 5.3%, Hindalco 6.8% and Tata Steel eased 2.5%.
Hindalco fell sharply after the Special Court rejected CBI closure report and ordered further investigation into the coal block allocation case.
In the financial pack, ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI and HDFC Bank were down 1-4% each.
Tata Motors was down 2% after after retail volumes of its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar and Land Rover dropped for the second straight month.
Volumes fell after the two Tata Motors-owned brands reported production issues related to transition to new models and stock clearance in its biggest market China.
Other Sensex losers include, ITC, Dr Reddy's and M&M.
Among other shares, Shares in Mastek has rallied 8%, extending its previous day’s 20% rally on National Stock Exchange (NSE), after Sundaram BNP Paribas Simple Fund bought nearly 200,000 shares of software services company through open market.
Salzer Electronics has zoomed 15% to Rs 207, extending its previous day’s over 15% rally on BSE, in otherwise weak market on back of heavy volumes.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap was down over 2% while the Small-cap index was down nearly 3%.
Market breadth weakened further with 1,959 losers and 357 gainers on the BSE.
