Markets Turn Negative

The Indian markets have turned negative after trading in the green for the first half of the day. At present, both the indices are trading lower, with the Sensex down 31 points and Nifty down 18 points. All the sectors are trading in the green zone, except Auto, which is trading lower by almost 2%. Indices like Consumer Durables, FMCG, Healthcare and Metals are trading higher in the green zone.

Other Asian markets extended their morning losses, with the Hang Seng and Shanghai trading down more than 1% each. This is on account of China raising fuel prices for the second time in less than six weeks.

The European markets have also opened on a negative note.

Back home, the Auto stocks are down on the back of news that petrol and diesel prices will be hiked. Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp etc. are the major index losers, all down in the range of 1%-4%.

After starting on a positive note, BHEL is down 1.67% to Rs 255.95, extending yesterday’s losses. Other stocks like ONGC, SBI, Sterlite Industries, HUL, RIL, etc. are trading marginally in the red zone. On the other hand, Sun Pharma is the leading index gainer, up 2.49% to Rs 568. Other stocks like TCS, ITC, Jindal Steel and Cipla are trading higher by more than 1%.

Thomas Cook is trading 0.76% higher at Rs 66.15 after the company launched its 'Travel and Learn Packages'. Four Soft is up 6.17% to Rs 9.29 after the company clinched a deal from Scan Global Logistics A/S for 4S products.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is weak. 1602 shares declined, 1048 shares gained and 145 shares remained unchanged.

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