Sensex Sheds Over 700 Points From Intra-Day Highs; IT Stocks Drag

The domestic stock markets have shaved off around 700 points from intra-day highs due to weakness in information technology stocks. At 11:00 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 60,792.87, lower by 452 points or 0.74 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 18,143, down 126 points or 0.70 per cent. The broader markets have also surrendered their gains, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Midcap index shedding 0.7 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade as investors monitored shares of China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.28 per cent and Topix index dipped 0.21 per cent.

The S&P 500 and the Dow climbed on Wednesday, with the Dow hitting an intraday record high, as investors eyed better than expected third-quarter earnings from U.S. companies. The Dow Jones rose 0.43 per cent to 35,609.34, the S&P 500 gained 0.37 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite ended flat.

On the earnings front, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Biocon, Can Fin Homes, Container Corporation and ICICI Lombard General Insurance will declare their results during the day.

On the stock-specific front, information technology stocks are witnessing selling pressure, with HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Infosys shedding 0.6 per cent to 3.2 per cent each on the BSE.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Powergrid have gained around a per cent each on the BSE.

The market breadth is weak. Out of 2,639 shares traded on the BSE, there are 1,399 advancing shares as against 1,142 declines.