Volatility to continue

The Indian markets opened on a weak note, losing yesterday's 1% gain in early trades. Weak global cues continue to hurt investor sentiments in the market. The Sensex and Nifty were both down by 0.73% and 0.65% respectively.

The European stocks opened on a positive note yesterday, but closed in the red after the comments of the German Chancellor, expressing views against the ECB Euro Bonds helping the Euro debt crisis, especially keeping in mind the role of these bonds in easing the situation. This set off negative sentiments among investors globally.

Asian markets are also trading in the red after the German Chancellor's statement against the Euro bonds dampened the mood. The discord between the European leaders in solving the Euro debt crisis continues to question the solution in the short term.

Among the sectoral indices back home, Realty, Consumer Durables and Consumer Goods are leading with gains of 2.30%, 2.18% and 1.54% respectively, as the FDI policy for multi-brand retail gave a boost to the retail segment. Other indices like Power, PSU and Pharma remained positive, with marginal gains between 0.20%-0.65%.

On the other hand, Metal, Oil & Gas, Auto, Bankex and FMCG were all down between 0.04%-0.86%. IT remains the top loser, down by 1.30%.

BHEL is leading the 30-share Sensex, with gains of more than 4%. All the other stocks are trading with marginal gains between 0.10%-1%. The IT stocks, though, are all leading with losses above 1%.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is positive. On the BSE, 1164 shares rose, 713 shares fell and 56 shares remained unchanged.

In conclusion, we expect the markets to remain volatile for the day. European markets will also provide some vital cues on the desired direction of the market trend in the late afternoon session. We shall keep you updated regularly through our market commentary.