Markets trade in red, sectoral indices down

As mentioned in our morning update, the Indian markets opened in the negative territory. At present, both the indices are trading in the red, with the Sensex down 147 points at 17086 and Nifty down by 49 points at 5204. All the sectoral indices are trading in the red, except FMCG, which is marginally up by 0.11%. Capital Goods, Metals and Power are the worst performing indices that are dragging the market southwards.

Other Asian markets are also trading in the red ahead of the European leaders' meeting on the sovereign debt crisis. Shanghai is trading 0.32% lower after the Chinese govt signalled caution on the easing of the monetary policy.

Back home, BHEL is trading down 7.71% at Rs 252.55, after its poor Q3 FY12 results. The company has guided that it may miss the FY12 order inflow. Metals stocks are down, with Sterlite Industries and Hindalco down 2.62% and 2.53% respectively. Banking heavyweights are also trading weak, with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank down by 1.30% and 1.91% respectively. Other stocks like NTPC, Infosys, HDFC, RIL etc. are trading down by less than 1%. Sun Pharma is the leading index gainer, up 1.72% to Rs 538. TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla, Bajaj Auto etc. are also trading on a positive note.

NMDC is trading 0.93% lower at Rs 181.15, after the news that it may acquire two companies in Australia. Orient Green Power is up 2.63% at Rs 14.43, after the news that company may pledge its shares to IL&FS.

Other stocks which are going to announce their Q3 FY12 numbers today are Bajaj Corp, Balrampur Chini, LIC Housing Finance and PVR. These stocks could be volatile on the back of their numbers and their management guidance.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1039 shares rose and 905 shares declined. 75 shares remained unchanged.

We expect the markets to remain volatile for the day.