)
Markets have marginally come off its morning lows on account of buying in FMCG, IT and Auto names. At 1050 hrs, the Sensex was down 139 points at 25,756 and the Nifty dropped 42 points to trade at 7,679.
Broader markets recovered and were flat with a negative bias. Both the indices were off marginally by 0.1%
Maruti Suzuki and HUL extended gains and were up 3.5% and 2% respectively along with Bharti Airtel up nearly 3%.
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(Updated at 1050 hrs)
Markets started the August series on a negative note with the Sensex down over 150 points owing to weak global cues. Selling pressure was visible across the sectors.
At 0920 hrs, the Sensex was down 159 points at 25,736 and the Nifty was down 55 points at 7,666.
The broader markets were no exception to the trend. The mid and smallcap indices dropped 0.7% in opening trades.
Sectors & Stocks
Power, Realty and capital Goods indices down 1% each were the major sectoral losers.
IT, Auto, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and Bankex indices slipped a little over 0.5% each.
Only six of the 30 stocks were in green on the Sensex.
Bharti Airtel up 2.5% continued its uptrend on reports that the company will sell more infrastructure in Africa. This is to reduce debt and cut capital expenditure on passive infrastructure.
Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Cipla, Coal India and Hero MotoCorp up 0.2-0.7% rounded off the gainers list.
The market breadth was weak on the BSE. 906 stocks declined while 483 stocks advanced.
Global Markets
Asian shares stumbled on Friday after a month-end swoon on Wall Street, though some were hoping China would offer better news on manufacturing and help steady investor sentiment.
The Chinese surveys on industrial activity come in two flavours, one from the government and one from HSBC. Analysts generally expect both to show a pick-up in July as Beijing's stimulus efforts gain traction.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.6%, while the broader Topix fell 0.7%.
Overnight, the U.S. S&P500 stock index posted its worst daily fall since April and its first monthly drop since January on Thursday, as economic data sparked concern the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than some have expected.
Data showing that U.S. labor costs recorded their biggest gain in more than 5-1/2 years in the second quarter this year came a day after the Fed upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy while reiterating it was in no hurry to raise rates.
Problems in overseas economies added to the bearish tone, with Argentina defaulting on its debt for the second time in 12 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.9%, to 16,563, while the S&P 500 lost 2%, to 1,931 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2%, to 4,370.
