The Sensex opened in the green gaining 72 points at 19,769 but quickly pared gains to slip into the red. The Nifty opened 15 points up at 5,918 and moved ahead to trade flat. In the broader markets, the smallcap index opened at 9,294, losing 3% and the midcap index started down 2% at 7,600.
Among the sectoral indices, Oil & Gas up 0.6% is the top gainer in the early trades followed by Metal, Capital Goods and IT. However, Health Care, Bankex, Realty, Auto and Consumer Durables started the day in the negative.
The gainers on the Sensex in the opening trades are Tata Steel up 0.8%, Sterlite, Infosys, ITC, RIL, L&T and ONGC gaining 0.4% -0.6%.
Reliance Communications down 3% is the top loser in the opening trades followed by SBI, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel shedding 1% each.
The market breadth is negative. Of the total 1568 stocks treaded on the BSE, 896 stocks have declined while 614 have advanced.