Sensex, Nifty marginally down; rupee breaks 65/$, ONGC down

Moneycontrol Bureau12:58 pm Market update: Benchmark indices continued to be weak. The Sensex declined 104.63 points to 26799.48 and the Nifty fell 29.65 points to 8113.95.About 1384 shares have advanced, 1115 shares declined, and 106 shares are unchanged on the BSE.12:45 pm Europe opens: European stocks opened lower as the shine slipped from Asian markets on the back of concerning China data.

All major European indices were in negative territory.

Asian shares slid deeper into the red in a choppy trading session today, with resources names leading losses after latest trade figures out of China rekindled concerns over demand from the world's second-biggest economy.

China's dollar-denominated exports fell 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier, while imports plunged 20.4 percent to chalk up their eleventh consecutive month of decline, official data showed on Tuesday.12:30 pm TCS weak ahead of Q2 nos: After lower-than-expected earnings in previous four quarters and strong results by rival Infosys, TCS's Q2FY16 numbers will be closely watched. Profit is expected to grow 6.5 percent to Rs 6,052.3 crore and revenue may increase 6.1 percent to Rs 27,230 crore on sequential basis, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.Tata Consultancy Services will announce its quarterly earnings today evening.

Dollar revenue growth may be 3.6 percent at USD 4,181 million in the quarter ended September 2015 and 4.2-4.3 percent in constant currency.

A constant currency growth of sub 4 percent may be a disappointment, according to analysts who see cross currency headwinds due to depreciation of Australian dollar, Brazilian real and rupee against US dollar. Its peer Infosys posted 6 percent dollar revenue growth and 6.9 percent in costant currency with margin at 25.5 percent.

They expect the country's largest IT company to clock lower volume growth during the quarter compared to previous September quarters (6.36 percent in Q2FY15 and 5.43 percent in Q2FY14).12:15 pm Fed rate hike in 2015?: The Federal Reserve should hold off on any interest rate hike until it is clear that a global slowdown, trouble in China and other international risks will not push the US recovery off course, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Monday in one of the strongest defenses yet of a go-slow approach to rate policy.

"I view the risks to the economic outlook as tilted to the downside. The downside risks make a strong case for continuing to carefully nurture the US recovery - and argue against prematurely taking away the support that has been so critical to its vitality," Brainard said. It was, Brainard said, time only for "watching and waiting" - not hiking rates.

Her comments and those of other policymakers point to a vigorous debate underway ahead of the Fed's October and December meetings, as US central bankers mull whether to proceed with an interest rate hike or delay in the face of what Brainard called "deflationary" trends around the world.

In contrast to Brainard's remarks, two policymakers whose views are often at odds both suggested on Monday they could well support a rate increase in December, as long as the economic data does not disappoint and that rate hikes once begun are gradual. Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer on Sunday said he too expects a 2015 hike.Also read - Coffee Day IPO: Only froth no substance, better to avoid12:00 pm Market Check

The market remained marginally under selling pressure in noon trade following weak Asian cues. The rupee breached 65 a dollar, down 33 paise to 65.07 on strong dollar demand.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 33.62 points to 26855.55 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 15.55 points to 8128.05. About 1311 shares have advanced, 1019 shares declined, and 94 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco (-4 percent), Vedanta (-4 percent), ONGC (-3 percent) and HCL Tech (-3 percent) were the big losers in the Nifty. Other laggards in the index were GAIL (-1 percent), Hero Motocorp (-1 percent) and Bosch (-1 percent).

Gainers included BPCL (2 percent), Bajaj Auto (2 percent), UltraTech Cement (1 percent) and Coal India (1 percent).

In sectoral performance as reflected by the respective indices, IT (-1.6 percent), metals (-0.7 percent) and oil & gas (-0.3 percent) were under pressure, while capital goods (0.4 percent), power (0.4 percent), FMCG (0.2 percent) and auto (0.1 percent) gained.

In second line shares, investors showed better appetite for small cap shares than mid cap shares, with the BSE Small Cap Index up 0.3 percent and the BSE Midcap Index down 0.02 percent.

Container Corp (-3 percent), SKS Microfinance (-3 percent), Gujarat Pipavav (-2 percent), Kansai Nerolac (-2 percent) and Rajesh Exports (-2 percent) were big losers in midcap space. Other notable laggards included Emami (-1 percent), Adani Power (-1 percent), Glenmark (-2 percent), Indiabulls Housing (-2 percent) and Godrej Industries (-2 percent).

Among key Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 132 points at 22598 and Singapore’s Straits Times was down 22 points at 3009. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed at 18234, down 203 points or 1.1 percent over its previous close, Korea’s KOSPI closed at 2019, down 2 points, and Taiwan’s Taiwan Index closed at 8567, down 5 points.