MUMBAI: Indian markets were moving in a narrow range with a negative bias as traders took cues from weak global markets. FMCG, capital goods
stocks were in the red while auto stocks bounced back.

“US markets closed in the red and other Asian markets are negative as well. Our markets have corrected significantly, as expected. We believe that a bottom would be hit at 14,600 to 14,700 levels followed by a rally. However, with concerns over a deficient monsoon, we expect the rally to be a slower one. Hence, we would advise a strategy of buying at every dip rather than selling at the rise. For the day we expect the market to open down; some buying at lower levels is not ruled out,” said Niket Shah, associate research analyst, Institutional Equity, Religare Capital Markets.

At 10:30 am, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 4437.10, down 0.55 points or 0.01 per cent. The index in opening trade breached psychological level of 4400 to fall to an intra-day low of 4398.90. It touched a high of 4442 so far.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 14,985.44, down 24.33 points or 0.16 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 14864.23 and high of 15031.65 in early trade.

“Trend deciding level for the day is 4467 / 15110. If Nifty trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 4533 / 15317. However, if Nifty trades below 4467 / 15110 for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 4371 – 4304 / 14802 – 14594,” said Angel Broking note.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.56 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.34 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE FMCG Index was down 0.71 per cent, BSE Capital Goods Index dipped 0.43 per cent and BSE Power Index edged 0.27 per cent lower. BSE Auto Index was up 1.44 per cent.

HDFC (-2.69%), ITC (-2.32%), Tata Power (-2.04%), NTPC (-1.92%) and ONGC (-1.79%) were amongst the Nifty losers.

Gainers included Ranbaxy Laboratories (4.03%), Suzlon Energy (3.63%), TCS (3.37%), HCL Technologies (3.16%) and M&M (2.60%).

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 918 declines and 889 advances.

Meanwhile, the US stocks fell on Monday, but were off their session lows, as investors booked profits following a month-long rally that took the broad S&P 500 index to a 10-month high on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 32.12 points, or 0.34 per cent, to close at 9,337.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.38 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 1,007.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 8.01 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 1,992.24.

Asian stocks were trading flat as commodity prices dropped while earnings reports pushed up some stocks. The Nikkei inched up 0.18 per cent, Hang Seng was up 0.41 per cent and Seoul Composite edged up 0.06 per cent.