The markets extended their losses in the past one hour. The Sensex is quoting at 16,484, weaker by 295 points, and the Nifty is at 4,912, down 95 points. Auto, realty and banking sectors are trading weak ahead of the monetary policy announcement scheduled on January 29. The FMCG space has bucked the trend, though.
M&M has slumped 6% to Rs 1,008. ICICI Bank and Tata Motors have weakened by 4.5% each to Rs 793 and Rs 733 respectively.
Hero Honda, Tata Steel and SBI are the other significant losers.
ITC is the leading gainer, having strengthened by 1.3% at Rs 258, with Grasim and Reliance Communication giving company.
Reliance is also swimming against the tide, with mild gains at Rs 1042.
The BSE market breadth is weak. Out of 2,683 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,965 declines as against 678 advances.