Mumbai, Jan 18 (IANS): Indian equities markets slipped into the red around noon Wednesday with a benchmark index giving up modest gains amid selling in IT and telecom stocks.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,502.42 points, was ruling at 16,447.12 points, 18.93 points or 0.11 percent down from its previous close at 16,466.05 points.

The Sensex had rallied over 276 points in Tuesday's trade.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also was trading lower at 4,952.3 points -- down 0.3 percent or 15 points from its previous close.

Broader markets were also subdued. The BSE 500 index was ruling 0.19 percent lower from its previous close. The BSE midcap index fell 0.33 percent and the BSE smallcap index slipped 0.16 percent.

The market breadth was negative with 1,104 stocks advancing, compared to 1,316 on the decline. Another 105 remained unchanged.

Prominent gainers on the Sensex included RIL, DLF, ONGC and Tata Power. Among losers were M&M, TCS, ICICI Band and Wipro.

Asian markets were ruling mixed as investors grew cautious after overnight results from some US Banks showed weak quarterly earnings. But there was some good news as well with recent successful bond auctions conducted by Spain and Greece.

The Japanese Nikkei rose 1.05 percent and closed at 8,466.4 points, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 2.36 percent up at 19,461.12 points.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite index was also ruling 3.86 percent higher at 2,291.34 points.