Markets Trade on a Negative Note

The Global Markets emanate mixed vibes this morning. U.S. stocks pared gains, almost erasing a 164-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after the Associated Press reported that House Speaker John Boehner said it’s a crapshoot whether the federal debt limit will be boosted if an agreement isn’t reached by Aug. 2. European stocks rose, halting three days of losses for the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank is prepared to take additional action to support the economy. This morning Asian stocks swung between gains and losses after Moody’s Investors Service put the U.S. under review for a credit-rating downgrade, hurting the outlook for exporters. In commodities, Oil traded near a four-day high in New York after signs of rising crude demand in the U.S. countered speculation the worlds biggest consumer of the commodity may face a credit rating downgrade. Gold surged to a record after Moody’s Investors Service placed the U.S. rating on review for a downgrade, U.S. debt-ceiling talks stumbled and Europe’s sovereign crisis persisted, boosting demand for a haven. Copper rose for the second straight day after economic growth exceeded estimates in China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal. After touching a low of 18,449 in the opening trades, the Sensex has come off day's low and is trading sideways. The BSE benchmark index is down 56 points at 18,539 while the Nifty shed 12 points at 5,573. Meanwhile the broader markets retraced its lost ground. The small cap index is flat with a positive bias and the midcap index is up nearly 0.2% as compared to the Sensex down 0.6%. In the sectoral indices, IT index continues to lead the losses followed by Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and Auto indices losing 0.4-0.6%. On the other and, Consumer Durables, Realty and Health Care up 0.2-0.4% are the only indices in the positive. The market breadth has turned positive. Of the total 2176 stock traded on the BSE, 1148 stocks advanced while 930 declined.