By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities started on a weak note Monday and was sluggish during noon trade, ruling at 25 points lower than its previous close.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,874.16 points, was ruling at 17,907.4 points, 25.74 points or 0.14 percent lower than the previous close of 17,933.14 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,353.85 points, a loss of 0.15 percent or 7.9 points from its previous close of 5,361.75 points.
Broader markets were also fairly dull, with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.17 percent higher and the BSE small cap index ruling 0.59 percent higher.
FMCG, consumer durables, and realty stocks saw buying interest, while capital goods and PSU scrips came under selling pressure.
The market breadth was positive, with 1,663 stocks advancing, compared to 1,059 on the decline, while 84 remained unchanged.
Other Asian markets were a mixed bag.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was ruling 0.16 percent higher at 22,243.29 points, while the Chinese Shanghai composite index was down 0.54 percent at 3128.25 points.
The South Korean Kospi was 0.82 percent in the red at 1,710.3 points, while the Japanese Nikkei shut shop in the green at 11,251.9 points, up 0.42 percent.