The Sensex was trading lower by 55 points, while the Nifty lost 15 points in early trade. Among the early losers in trade were ICICI Bank, Larsen and Toubro, BPCL and Cipla.

Metal and mining stocks rallied in trade with NMDC and Sesa Sterlite among the top gainers.

Other Nifty gainers in trade were Bharti Airtel, DLF and NTPC. Power Grid Corporation was trading marginally lower despite its FPO receiving 69 per cent subscription.

Shares in Shree Renuka Sugars rallied after reports that the company is in advanced talks with Singapore-based Wilmar Group for stake sale.

The Bank Nifty fell in trade today with losses of more then half per cent after heavyweight ICICI Bank lost 1.2 per cent in early trade.

PSU banking stocks were also trading lower despite an upgrade by a leading brokerage firm. Among the PSU Banks that lost ground were Canara Bank, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Syndicate Bank.

Mid cap stocks were trading little changed with the index trading flat. Shares from the infra and capital goods space which have seen a sharp rally in the last few trading sessions gave up some ground with names like Voltas, Crompton Graves among the early losers.

Meanwhile, markets across Asia were trading with losses following a sell off in the US and European markets over worries that strong US economic data may result in earlier then expected QE3 tapering. The Japanese Nikkei lost almost 2 per cent in early trade, while the Korean Kospi and the Singapore's Strait Times also lost ground.

GoodReturns.in