Stock markets have broadened their losses in spite of worldwide markets trading on a high note.

The benchmark indices are trending lower on account of a series of feeble earnings report over the weekend.

Banking scrips remained weak prior to the central bank's evaluation of monetary plan on July 27.

At 1.10 p. m., the BSE Sensex declined 72 points at 18,058 and the NSE Nifty stood at 5,429, down 20 points.

Defensive stocks witnessed buying activity in the market, which is progressing on a slow pace.

The consumer durables index grew by 0.76%, healthcare index surged 0.32% and IT index increased 0.49%.

The auto index declined 2.41% mainly because of Maruti, which announced its quarterly results on Saturday.

Maruti's net profit declined 20.25% to Rs 465.36 crore.

The shares of Maruti declined 10.43% during early trade. Hero Honda fell 5.67%.

Reports showed that Honda might divest a part of its equity stake in the company.

The BSE smallcap index remained flat while the CNX midcap dropped 0.43%.

At 1.22 p. m., the CAC 40 in France surged 0.08%, the DAX in Germany fell 0.13% and the FTSE remained up by 0.12%.

The Asian markets closed the day with gains.

Japanese Nikkei 225 surged 0.77% to 9,503. The Kospi in South Korea increased by 0.63% whereas the Hang Seng added 0.22 per cent.