Markets lose early steam, Sensex below 15k

Mumbai: Mumbai: Markets are trading weak with some volatility. The BSE IT index continues to witness heavy selling pressure as it was down nearly four per cent. Metal, capital goods, FMCG and power are also trading negative while realty, oil & gas and auto stocks are witnessing buying interest. ADAG Group stocks are most active shares on the BSE.

On the Global front, Asian markets closed higher. However, European markets are trading flat.

At 1313 hrs ISt, the Sensex is down 188.68 points or 1.26 per cent at 14753.60, and the Nifty down 53.35 points or 1.19 per cent at 4423.45.

Markets breadth is negative, about 1439 shares have advanced, 1488 shares declined, and 224 shares are unchanged.

Top losers on the Sensex are TCS at Rs 801.50 down 6.64 per cent, Tata Steel at Rs 626.50 down 6.07 per cent and Infosys at Rs 1,529.90 down 4.6 per cent.

IT index was down 3.97 per cent at 3,585.47. Stocks like TCS at Rs 801.30 down 6.66 per cent, Infosys at Rs 1,530 down 4.60 per cent, Tech Mahindra at Rs 720 down 4.43 per cent and Satyam at Rs 366.80 down 2.89 per cent.

ADAG Group stocks are most active shares on the BSE, RNRL at Rs 98.60 with volumes of 41,198,174, Rel Capital at Rs 1,407.50 with volumes of 2,357,814 and Reliance Power at Rs 179.35 with volumes of 11,334,317.

At 0957 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 83 points at 15,025 and Nifty up 27 points at 4,504. Nifty July Futures was trading in premium.

Biggest gainers in early trade were HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Comm, BHEL, ONGC, SAIL, Unitech, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors. However, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HUL, ITC are Cairn losing ground.

Bharti Airtel shot up nearly five per cent on the back of better than expected first quarter numbers. Bharti Airtel posted 16.93 per cent growth in its net profit of Rs 2166.7 crore for the quarter ended June 2008 as against Rs 1,853 crore in previous quarter and net sales up 8.8 per cent at Rs 8506 crore versus Rs 7,819 crore (QoQ).

Asian markets were trading higher. Shanghai, Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted went up 0.4 per cent each. Nikkei and Kospi rose 1-2 per cent.

Nymex September Crude is trading at 7-week lows, which is below USD 125 a barrel. Experts expect near term range around USD 118 - 128 a barrel.

US markets rose for a second straight session as financials rally and oil broks below the key $125 a barrel mark. Dollar became stronger against other major currencies.

The Dow gained 29.88 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 11,632.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 5.19 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 1,282.19 and the Nasdaq composite index added 21.92 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 2,325.88.

Market cues: