Sensex, Nifty continue to fall; HDFC, ITC, ICICI drag

Moneycontrol Bureau12:59 pm Market remains weak: The Sensex slipped 167.95 points or 0.65 percent to 25718.67 and the Nifty declined 59.80 points or 0.76 percent to 7804.35. About 1149 shares have advanced, 1359 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged on the BSE.12:50 pm Rupee Update: The rupee hit a more than two-year low against the greenback today as domestic shares fell after an underwhelming stimulus package from the European Central Bank, forcing the Reserve Bank of India to sell dollars via state-run banks.

The rupee tumbled to 67.01 to the dollar, the lowest since September 4, 2013, from its previous close of 66.6525/66.6625.

Traders said the RBI likely stepped in to support the rupee at around 66.98 per dollar, sparking a rebound. The local currency was at 66.8600/8650 per dollar as of 12:11 pm

The disappointment over the ECB comes amid growing worries of the impact on India and other emerging markets as the US Federal Reserve gears up to raise interest rates for the first time in around a decade this month.12:40 pm Buzzing: Shares of Motherson Sumi fell 4 percent intraday. Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage on the auto ancillary companies with an underweight rating. The brokerage sees a 20 percent downside risk on earnings. It has set a target price of Rs 238 per share as it feels aggressive margin expansion expectations are unlikely to be met. “The street expects aggressive margin expansion at MSSL divisions Samvardhana Motherson Peguform (SMP) and Samvardhana Motherson Reflectec (SMR). We believe expectations are unlikely to be met, as regional mix appears set to weaken as share of China declines,” brokerage says in a note. 12:20 pm RBI on bonds: Haunted by memories of India's 2013 markets crash, the country's central bank is engaging in a tricky balancing act with domestic yields to keep volatility out of its bond markets ahead of the Federal Reserve's historic policy decision this month.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is seeking to prevent wild swings in bond markets by agreeing to pay higher interest rates to investors at bond auctions, people with knowledge of the central bank's operations say, while also buying bonds in the open market to stop yields rising too much.

Although India has outperformed many emerging markets this year, the country has not been immune to Fed jitters, with foreign investors selling around USD 1.7 billion in bonds and shares last month.

The people familiar with RBI operations say it is worried weak market participation at its auctions ahead of the Fed's December 15-16 meeting could trigger a selloff. In 2013, Fed "taper" fears sent the rupee to a record low.Also read - Seventh Pay Commission to boost luxury products sale: Voltas12:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks continued to see selling pressure in noon trade, weighed down by banking & financials, FMCG, technology and oil stocks. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 205.58 points or 0.79 percent to 25681.04 and the 50-share NSE Nifty plunged 69.50 points or 0.88 percent to 7794.65. The market breadth was also negative as about 1327 shares declined against 1057 advancing shares on the BSE.

HDFC, ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, TCS, Mahindra & Mahindra and Wipro were down 1-2 percent.

Sun Pharma bucked the trend, up nearly 4 percent on getting USFDA approval for anti-cancer drug Gleevec.