Sensex trims losses, Nifty above 6900; L&T, ICICI crack

Moneycontrol Bureau12:59 pm Market trims losses: Equity benchmarks recouped more than half of losses. The Sensex declined 129.72 points to 22822.11 and the Nifty fell 37.40 points to 6938.95.The market breadth remained weak as about five shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.12:45 pm Technical expert: In April last year, a month after the market had topped out at 30,000, renowned technical analyst Vivek Patil put out a bold forecast: that the Sensex could sink to 23,000-22,000 levels. With his prophecy coming true, he has some more bad news, that the benchmark is likely to find support in the 21,300-22,500 zone but if it breaks, the next target is at 15,000.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Patil used the NEoWave theory to make his case, saying that the rally -- a Triple Combination Channel rally -- which started from August 2013 lows of 17,449 and topped out at around 30,000 will get support after giving back 60-70 percent of the upside move (translating into a target of 22,500-21,300).12:30 pm Market Update: The 50-share NSE Nifty breached 6900 level for the first time since May 12, 2014, down 102.50 points or 1.47 percent to 6873.85.The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 344.36 points or 1.50 percent to  22607.47..About seven shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.Carnage in broader markets continued with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 3-4 percent.12:15 pm Buzzing: Shares of drug firm Wockhardt slumped more than 18 percent on the bourses today after the company reported 82.44 percent decline in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December 31.

Wockhardt's net sales during the quarter under review were at Rs 1,075.77 crore, down 22.16 per cent from Rs 1,382.05 crore in the year-ago period, the company had said in a filing.Also read - Ditch roses, buy largecaps below Rs 500/sh this Valentine's Day12:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks extended losses in noon trade with the Sensex falling 193.59 points to 22758.24 and the Nifty down 61.20 points to 6915.15. The market breadth remained weak as about five shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The broader markets have seen major fall compared to benchmarks. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 2-3 percent.

Tata Motors topped the buying list on Sensex, up 4.7 percent followed by ITC, Axis Bank, M&M and NTPC with more than a percent gain. However, BHEL crashed 11 percent after posting a loss of more than Rs 1,000 crore in Q3. ICICI Bank, L&T, Adani Ports, ONGC, Tata Steel and Hindalco declined 4-6 percent.

Markets in Asia dropped sharply today, with the Nikkei tumbling, after a sell-off on Wall Street as oil remained volatile and concerns about how central banks' easing measures will affect banks' earnings persisted.

Japan's Nikkei 225, which reopened after a public holiday on Thursday, dropped 760.78 points, or 4.84 percent, to 14,952.61, falling for seven of the past eight sessions to its lowest close since October, 2014. The Nikkei 225 has been on a downward spiral in recent days, as the yen rapidly strengthened against the dollar, with the index ending down more than 11 percent for the week.

Crude oil prices jumped more than 5 percent intraday after comments by an OPEC energy minister sparked hopes of a coordinated production cut, yet analysts said such a move remained unlikely and that oversupply would persist. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at USD 31.46 per barrel, up 4.8 percent.