Markets slated to close in the red

Mumbai, Aug 9 (UNI) The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex is deeply in the red at 15,130.23, registering a loss of 177.75 points in late afternoon, from it's previous close of 15,307.98 due to heavy profit booking at higher levels.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty is also down by around 52 points at 4,410.20 from it's previous close of 4,462.10 after opening marginally higher at 4,462.25.

The market breadth which was strong earlier during the day on the BSE has now turned negative with 1,490 shares declining as compared to 1,198 that advanced, while 62 remained unchanged The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3891 crore so far. Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 21 declined while the rest advanced.

Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bharat Heavy Electricals and ICICI Bank have gained, while Hindalco Industries, Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers, TCS, SBI, Reliance Energy and Reliance Industries (RIL) have edged lowe.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped while the Shanghai Composite advanced.

US stocks had surged yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153.56 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 13,657.86. The Standard&Poor's 500 index rose 20.78 points, or 1.41 per cent, to 1,497.49.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite index advanced 51.38 points, or 2.01 per cent, to 2,612.98.

Crude prices continued to hover around the USD 72 mark on signs that US gasoline demand may have peaked as the summer driving season neared close. It was trading at USD 72.33, up USD 0.18, on the Nymex in early morning trade.

UNI