By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian markets were in recovery mode a little before Thursday noon after witnessing sharp falls on opening. A key index was ruling 106 points below its last closing figure after opening about 245 points lower.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which had opened at 11,774.04 points, was ruling at 11,913.45 points, still 106.2 points or 0.88 percent lower than its previous close.
Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was ruling at 3,623 points, 0.34 percent lower than its last close.
However, broader market indices climbed back into the green, with the BSE midcap index gaining 0.23 percent, while the BSE smallcap index was up 0.26 percent.
Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, the indices for banking, telecom and oil and gas stocks lost the most, while auto and PSU stocks found favour among buyers.
The market breadth was negative with 837 stocks advancing, 1,103 declining and 74 remaining unchanged.
There were only five gainers at this time on the Sensex including M&M, up 1.9 percent at Rs.519.90; DLF, up 1.85 percent at Rs.236.80; NTPC, up 0.58 percent at Rs.190.35; and ACC, up 0.56 percent at Rs.618.30.
Among the losers were Bharti Airtel, down 3.31 percent at Rs.770.65; ICICI Bank, down 3.19 percent at Rs.532.10; Tata Motors, down 2.94 percent at Rs.260.40; and Sterlite, down 2.26 percent at Rs.464.50.
In other key Asian markets, Tokyo markets ended a dismal trading day in the red, with its key index the Nikkei ruling in the negative terrain throughout to shut shop at 9,093.73 points, 246.76 points below its previous close.
The Hang Seng, the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was ruling 551.54 points down at 16,508.08 points.
In the US, stocks fell sharply as retail sales in the country dropped unexpectedly in April. The US commerce department said Wednesday retail sales dropped 0.4 percent in April for the second straight month, surprising analysts and signalling that the country’s economic downturn continues to depress consumer demand.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 184.22 points, or 2.18 percent, to 8,284.89 points, while the broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index dropped 24.43 points, or 2.69 percent, to 9,883.92 points.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dived 51.73 points, or 3.01 percent, to 1,664.19 points.