Choppiness continues, auto stocks slip

From an intra-day high of 19,739, the Sensex declined around 180-odd points to touch a low of 19,554 in afternoon trades amid weakness in auto and select metal stocks. The markets continue to exhibit choppiness, and the Sensex is now down 41 points at 19,607.

The NSE Nifty has declined 20 points at 5872.

The BSE Consumer Durables index is the major loser, down nearly 2% at 5949. The Auto, Power and FMCG are the other major weak sectors so far today. The IT index, however, continues to trade on a firm note, up 2%.

Mahindra & Mahindra has plunged 4% to Rs 723. BHEL has dropped 3% to Rs 2,250.

Sterlite, Tata Power and Hindalco have declined over 2% each to Rs 167, Rs 1,285 and Rs 217, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Communications, Maruti and HDFC are the other major losers.

Wipro has soared nearly 3% to Rs 471. TCS and Infosys have rallied over 2% each to Rs 1,126 and Rs 3,268, respectively.

Bharti Airtel and SBI are the other notable gainers.

The market breadth has turned negative - out of 2,885 stocks traded so far, 1,580 have declined, and 1,200 have advanced.