Sensex subdued on Infosys, two-wheelers; UB group shares up

The BSE Sensex traded near the day's low in the post noon session tracking weak global cues and sharp fall in Infosys, which has a large weightage on the benchmark.

At 1 p.m., the Sensex traded 2 points higher at 18,826 while the broader Nifty was nearly unchanged from Monday's level of 5,719.

Infosys shares dropped sharply after global brokerage CLSA retained its "underweight" call on the software services exporter, but said prices can fall up to 40 per cent from current levels. Shares in the company traded near the day's low, down 1.4 per cent. The BSE IT index slipped into the red despite over 1 per cent gains in TCS, India's biggest software services outsourcer.

Banks, realty, and auto stocks also saw selling pressure. Private lender Axis Bank was among the top Nifty losers, down 1.8 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank traded 1.3 per cent lower.

Shares in two-wheeler manufacturers came under selling pressure on the back of weak September sales. Bajaj Auto traded 1.7 per cent lower while Hero MotoCorp dropped 1.3 per cent.

Private steel maker JSPL was the top loser on the Nifty, falling 4.7 per cent.

22 of the 50 stocks traded higher on the Nifty. Gains were led by engineering major Siemens, which traded 3 per cent higher. Drug maker Dr Reddy's advanced over 2.5 per cent. Infra lender IDFC was the other stock to rise over 2 per cent on the Nifty.

UB group stocks continued to be in focus. Kingfisher Airlines shares dropped 4.9 per cent for the third straight day. 270 of the company's engineers have been on strike since Sunday, triggering the latest crisis. However, shares in United Spirits and UB Holding traded higher over the possibility of a deal with Diageo.

Global cues:

Asian stocks closed lower as skittish investors waited for a key U.S. jobs report later in the week for signs of growth in the world's largest economy. European shares also started weak.