Markets extend morning losses

The Indian markets have extended their morning losses. At present, both the indices are trading down by more than 1%. Of the sectoral indices, Realty, Capital Goods and Bankex are the worst performers, dragging the markets down. Consumer Durables and Healthcare are trading marginally in the green zone.

Other Asian markets are also trading weak. The Nikkei and Shanghai are marginally down by 0.16% and 0.10% respectively, while the Hang Seng is down 1.55% to levels of 21344.

The European markets have opened on a positive note, with the 3 major indices, CAC, FTSE and DAX, trading in the green zone.

Back home, DLF is the biggest index loser, down 4.48% to Rs 216.20. Capital Goods stocks, BHEL and L&T, are also trading lower by 2.90% and 2.06% respectively. Others like Wipro, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank are trading down by more than 2%. HUL, Cipla, TCS, ITC, etc. are trading marginally in the red zone. On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki is up by 3.88% to Rs 1305 after reporting good sales number for Feb 2012. Other stocks like Tata Power, Coal India, Sun Pharma and HDFC are also on the gainers list for today’s trading session.

ONGC's shares are currently trading 1.09% down at Rs 290.15 after investors bid less than 1% of the company's shares in the first 2 hours of the auction. Glenmark Pharma is trading 0.58% higher at Rs 310 after it received ANDA approvals for Ciclopirox Gel and other tablets.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is weak. A total of 1526 shares declined, 1114 shares gained and 121 shares remained unchanged.

We expect the markets to remain volatile for the rest of the day and advise readers to play with caution.