Sensex crawls up after a brief slip, Asia weak

A key index for Indian equities Wednesday crawled back into the green after a brief slip into the red, even as other Asian markets took a tumble. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,523.47 points, was ruling at 17,548.21 points, 38.88 points or 0.22 percent up from its previous close at 17,509.33 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,263.25 points, up 0.23 percent from its previous close at 5,251.4 points. Broader markets indices were in the positive, with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.53 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index 0.7 percent up. Telecom, IT and FMCG stocks saw selling pressure, while there were some buys of PSU scrips. The market breadth was positive, with 1,692 scrips on the advance, compared to 1,008 stocks declining, and 103 remaining unchanged. In other Asian markets, investors continued to sell on persistent fears over the US economic recovery. The US monthly jobs report will be out later Friday. The Japanese Nikkei was flat towards closing bell at 9,194.48 points, 0.03 percent up from its previous close, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng caught up with other losing peers, after a one-day break Thursday, and was ruling 1.38 percent lower at 19,851.42 points. The South Korean Kospi closed 0.86 percent down at 1,671.82 points.