Mumbai, March 4 (IANS) Trading remained sluggish at Indian equities markets even as a key index slipped further into the red and was ruling almost 100 points lower shortly after noon Thursday.

At 12.18 p.m. the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,013.68 points, was ruling at 16,900.8 points, 99.21 points or 0.58 percent lower than its previous close at 17,000.01 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,053.4 points against the previous close at 5,088.1 points, a loss of 0.68 percent or 34.7 points.

Broader markets, however, saw some buying interest with the BSE midcap index ruling 0.4 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 0.45 percent up.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,423 stocks advancing, compared to 1,226 scrips on the decline, while 84 remained unchanged.

Most other Asian markets, were trading on a subdued note.

The benchmark Japanese index, Nikkei, ended 1.05 percent lower at 10,145.72 points, while the South Korean Kospi moved down 0.26 percent at 1,618.2 points.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was ruling in the red too at 20,766.25 points, down 0.53 percent, while the Chinese Shanghai composite index lost 2.05 percent at 3,033.64 points.