By IANS,
Mumbai : Traders booked profits at Indian equities markets Thursday with a benchmark index slipping in morning trade but managing to stay above the 18,000-mark, which it breached Wednesday for the first time in six months.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 18,163.05 points, and was ruling at 18,073.48 points, 128.93 points or 0.71 percent down from its previous close at 18,202.41 points.
The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was trading lower at 5,493.4 points, down 38.55 points or 0.7 percent from its previous close.
Broader markets were also in the red, with the BSE 500 index trading 0.41 percent down. The BSE midcap index was up 0.19 percent while the BSE smallcap index gained 0.44 percent.
As per the sectoral indices on the BSE, power, realty and capital goods stocks were on the rise.
Prominent gainers on the 30-scrip Sensex included Jindal Steel, Tata Power, Cipla and BHEL, while losers included RIL, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors.
The market breadth was positive with 1,298 stocks advancing, 1,202 on the decline and 121 unchanged.
Asian markets fell with investors uneasy as a bailout package for Greece was dealing with an indication coming from Euro zone countries that they could wait till the country held elections in April.
The Japanese Nikkei fell 0.38 percent to rule at 9,224.78 points, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading 0.7 percent lower at 21,216.36 points.
The Chinese Shanghai Composite index, also shed 0.74 percent to trade at 2,349.27 points.