Markets Trade in Red

The Indian markets taking lacklustre cues from its global peers trades on a negative note this morning. The negative mood was further enhanced by larger than expected 50 basis points hike in interest rates yesterday by the RBI. At present the Sensex trades at 18442 down by 75 points and the Nifty is down by 25 points to trade at 5549. Among the sectoral pack, BSE Consumer Durable Index was the top gainer, up1%. Gitanjali Gems gained 2%, Videocon Industries and Bajaj Electricals added over 1% each. From the broader markets, the midcap and small cap indices were trading higher by almost 0.5% each. Top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Communication, ONGC and Reliance Infrastructure, up between 0.6-2%. Prominent losers were BHEL and Hindalco, down over 1% each and State Bank of India slipped 0.7%. Market breadth was positive, 1213 stocks advanced for 597 stocks which declined. On the sectoral basis the biggest dragger is the capital goods index which is trading down by one percentage points followed by banking and power index.