In the absence of any credible triggers to push the markets either ways, the Sensex continues to trade sideways. The Nifty is down 26 points at 5,539 and the Sensex lost 96 points at 18,488. Metal index down 1% continues to lead the losses while Health Care index has inched ahaed by 0.3%
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(Updated at 0932 hrs)
The markets opened in the red on the back of subdued cues from the Asian and US front with the Sensex down 90 points at 18,494 and the Nifty giving off 35 points at 5,529. However after the initial blip the markets gained some momentum owing to the broader markets which opened stronger as compared to the BSE benchmark index.Also, there is some caution in the market ahead of the industrial output data for March 2011 and the weekly food inflation figures by the government.
The smallcap index was flat at the opening bell at 8,428 while the midcap opened with a negative bias at 6,903, managing to outperform the Sensex which slipped 0.3%. Among the sectoral indices, yesterday's fortrunner Metals, opened down 0.7% leading the losses. This was mainly due to slump in the metal market accross the globe overnight. The other draggers in the opening trades were Consumer Durables, IT and FMCG. On a positive note, Capital Goods opened up 0.15% while PSU and Power indices started flat though in the green range.
Among the metal stocks, of the total 13 companies listed, 12 are trading in the negative. The top losers are Jindal Saw and Hindustan Zinc down 2% each followed by Hindalco,Sterlite and SAIL losing 1% each.The only exception here is JSW Steel up 0.6%
The top Sensex gainers in the starting trades were Bajaj Auto up nearly 1.5% followed by Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Infrastructure, Mahindra & Mahindra and L&T adding between 0.2-0.4%
Among the losers were Hindalco, HDFC, Sterlite, Reliance Communication, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, TCS and HDFC Bank down 0.5-1%.
The market breadth was positive.Of the total 1406 stocks traded on the BSE 717 stocks advanced while 638 declined.
Servalakshmi Paper which debuted on the BSE today received a dull opening. The stock debuted at Rs 30, a premium of 3.45% to the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 29 per share. However, soon enough it fell below the listing price and is trading at a 0.17% discount at Rs 28.95.
