Small BusinessMarkets recover partially
The markets have recovered partially. The Sensex is now down 147 points at 16,160, and the Nifty has shed 46 points at 4,822.
- Asian markets continue to trade weak - Markets slip, but recover soon post CRR hike - Cipla slips despite increase in net - Britannia slips 2% on fall in net - Sensex down 126pts at opening bell - US markets end down
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The markets are trading weak as the cash reserve ratio (CRR) hike announced by the RBI has been above expectations. The central bank raised the CRR by 75 basis points as against the consensus estimates of a 50-bps hike. However, the RBI has left repo, reverse repo rates and bank rates untouched.
The Sensex is down 204 points at 16,102 and the Nifty has shed 56 points at 4,810. The mid-cap and small cap indices are also down more than 1% each.
In the rate-sensitive space, the auto sector has shed nearly 2% and the realty pack has lost slightly more than a per cent. The banking sector has, however, recovered and is trading marginally in the positive as the central bank has kept the rates steady.
ICICI Bank has gained 1.5% at Rs 800, while HDFC Bank has lost 0.6% at Rs 1584 and SBI has weakened by 0.4% at Rs 1995.
Among the auto stocks, Tata Motors has weakened by 4.7% at Rs 681. M&M has lost 2.4% at Rs 998 and Maruti has shed 1.5% at Rs 1365.
In the realty space, DLF has weakened by 1.2% at Rs 320, IVRCL has lost 8.5% at Rs 297 and Lanco Infra has lost 4.3% at Rs 44.5.
The IT space is also trading weak as a result of the outcourcing scare triggered by Obama"s State of the Union address. The US president reiterated his campaign pledge to end tax breaks to American companies that outsource jobs overseas. Infosys has weakened by 2.7% to Rs 2426, TCS has declined 3.3% to Rs 715, while Wipro has dipped 4.9% to Rs 639.
Metal stocks are also in red. Hindalco has dropped 5% to Rs 140, Tata Steel has tumbled 4.4% to Rs 559 and Sterlite is down 3.6% at Rs 735. And the market heavyweight, Reliance, has dropped 0.9% to Rs 1,027.
The BSE market breadth is negative. Out of 2,680 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 2123 declining stocks as against 515 advances.