Market update: Sensex slides 170 pts; ICICI Bank crashes 8 per cent

Mostly weak trend across other Asian markets and a sharp fall in ICICI Bank has pushed frontline Indian indexes lower in morning trading. Weakness in heavyweights like ONGC and Bharti has also contributed to the decline while technology stocks are providing some support.

Sensex opened at 13823 and declined to a low of 13700. The index is trading lower by 170 points at 13739 at 11.10 AM IST.

Nifty opened at 4082 and slipped to a low of 4033. The index is now trading lower by 39 points at 4045

ICICI Bank has crashed nearly 8 per cent on reports of a massive fund raising plans. The reported $5 billion capital raising has pushed the stock down on fears of significant equity dilution

Among other financial stocks, HDFC has lost nearly 3 per cent and PNB is down nearly 2 per cent

Zee Entertainment has corrected nearly 3 per cent in early trading

Bharti Airtel has lost another 2 per cent after the previous week's decline

ONGC remains weak and has slipped nearly 2 per cent

Nalco, L&T and ITC are the other major losers, all trading well over 1.5 per cent each lower

Technology stocks are doing well in morning trading. Infosys is leading the pack with gains of nearly 2.5 per cent. HCL Tech has added more than 2 per cent while Satyam is trading over 1.5 per cent higher. TCS has gained close to 1.5 per cent and Wipro is trading with gains of close to a per cent

Among metal stocks, Tata Steel and Sterlite have recovered close to a per cent each

Gail India has added more than a per cent

Gujarat Ambuja and Maruti are the other major gainers

Mid-caps and small caps have gained modestly, despite the decline in frontline large cap indexes. The NSE mid-cap index is now trading with gains of 0.1 per cent. BSE mid-cap index has gained nearly 0.3 per cent and the BSE small-cap index is trading 0.25 per cent higher.

Among mid-cap IT stocks, Tech Mahindra, Patni and MPhasis are trading firm

Among small pharma stocks, Surya Pharma and Ajantha Pharma have gained ground

Sirpur Paper, Emkay Share, Dredging Corporation, SI group, Alok Textiles, BIL, Asian Electronics and Industrial Meters are the other major gainers among mid-caps and small caps

Polaris has tumbled 8.5 per cent in early trading while Raymond has lost nearly 5 per cent.

GHCL is locked in 10 per cent down circuit for the third day.

Zenith Birla, Zodiac JRD, Teledata, AI Champdany and GTC Industries are the major losers among mid-caps and small-caps

Thomas White Global Research, part of the Thomas White International Group, publishes capital market research for global institutions and investment banks, and is headed by Thomas White, a former managing director of Morgan Stanley Asset Management.

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