The overall market breadth was positive as 1,538 shares were advancing while 1,147 were declining on BSE.New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks started in red on Thursday dragged by losses in information technology stocks.
Asian shares edged higher, shrugging off drops in Europe and on Wall Street overnight as China underscored its diverging monetary and economic picture by cutting benchmark mortgage rates.Back home, as of 9:27 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack was down 275 points or 0.46 per cent at 59,824 and the broader NSE Nifty moved 71 points or 0.40 per cent lower to 17,867.Mid- and small-cap shares were mixed as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.18 per cent and small-cap shares were trading 0.23 per cent higher.On the stock-specific front, Infosys was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 1.55 per cent to Rs 1,838.15.
Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries and ONGC were also among the laggards.Also, non-bank lender PTC India Financial services tanked as much as 16.96per cent after its three independent directors resigned citing lapses in corporate governance.On the flipside, Tata Consumer Products, PowerGrid, Coal India, Grasim Industries and Hero MotoCorp were among the gainers.The overall market breadth was positive as 1,538 shares were advancing while 1,147 were declining on BSE.On the 30-share BSE platform, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro, Reliance Industries and TCS attracted the most losses with their shares sliding as much as 1.83 per cent.PowerGrid, UltraTech Cements, Tata Steel, ITC, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank were among the gainers.Sensex had slumped 656 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 60,099 on Wednesday, while the broader NSE Nifty had settled 175 points or 0.96 per cent lower at 17,938.