Mumbai, April 16 (Inditop) Indian equities markets slipped into the red Thursday after opening higher, as a key index slid about 125 points in the red a little after noon.
Around this time, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex), which opened at 11,358.06 points, was at 11,159.18 points, 1.11 percent or 125.55 points lower than its previous close Wednesday.
Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 3,439.85 points, 1.27 percent down from its last close of 3,484.15 points.
Broader market indices also turned. The BSE midcap and BSE smallcap were doing better, with the BSE midcap index down 0.43 percent, and the BSE smallcap index down 0.21 percent.
Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, the indices for consumer durables, realty and FMCG stocks gained the most.
Among the gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma, up 2.85 percent at Rs.1,245.95; Hindustan Unilever, up 1.87 percent at Rs.240; Maruti Suzuki, up 1.77 percent at Rs.862.70, and Grasim, up 1.25 percent at Rs.1,643.
The losers included Tata Motors, down 6.4 percent at Rs.263.20; Ranbaxy, down 4.95 percent at Rs.189.95; Tata Steel, down 3.19 percent at Rs.284, and Mahindra and Mahindra, down 2.56 percent at Rs.462.
In other Asian markets, a key Japanese index – the Nikkei of the Tokyo Stock Exchange – closed marginally in the green Thursday at 8,755.26 points, about 12.30 points below its last closing figure.
However, the Hang Seng, a key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was ruling at 15,631 points, 0.24 percent lower than its last close.
US stock markets rose Wednesday on signs of economic recovery as the Federal Reserve said a number of regions are reporting an easing of the country’s economic downturn.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 109.44 points, or 1.4 percent, to 8,029.62 points.
The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index gained 10.56 points, or 1.3 percent, to 852.06, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.08 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,626.80.
