Benchmark indices opened the day strong as Asian cues were mostly robust as crude stayed above the $30 per barrel mark. However, it soon dipped into the red as Chinese markets fell.

The Nifty was last trading lower by 7 points, while the Sensex was down 8 points.

Banking stocks which had shown some recovery early this week, were back to losing ways. Kotak Mahindra, State Bank, HDFC Bank and Bank of Baroda were trading lower. However, ICICI Bank managed to buck the trend and was up almost 1 per cent.

Oil and gas were marginally lower after crude oil prices dipped marginally. ONGC and Oil India were among the early losers in trade.

MRF was trading lower, after the company's results lagged estimates. InterGlobe Aviation, which had been hammered in the last two trading sessions and lost as much as as 25 per cent, managed to finally gain some ground. The stock was up 3 per cent in trade.

HDFC was trading flat ahead of its results to be declared later today. Meanwhile, markets across Asia were trading with gains, with only the Shanghai Composite trading in the red.

The Japanese Nikkei, the Soul Composite and the Strait Times were all up in trade.

GoodReturns.in