Markets end in red

The markets finally ended in the negative territory. The Sensex ended (provisional) with a loss of 185 points at 17,393. The Nifty declined 63 points at 5,199.
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(Updated at 1440 hrs)

The markets continue to consolidate, the Sensex is now down 106 points at 17,472. The Nifty is down 41 points at 5,222.

The BSE Realty index has extended losses, and is now down over 3% at 3,236. The Auto index has slipped 1.7% to 7,500.

HDFC and DLF have plunged 3% each to Rs 2,612 and Rs 303, respectively. Jaiprakash Associates also has shed almost 3% at Rs 149.

Hindalco, Tata Motors and Maruti have dropped around 2.5% each at Rs 171, Rs 763 and Rs 1,396, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra has slipped 2% to Rs 1,051. ICICI Bank, Hero Honda, Tata Power, Tata Steel, Sterlite and BHEL are the other prominent losers.

Reliance Communications has moved up over 2% to Rs 171.

Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank have added 1.5% each to Rs 317 and Rs 1,845, respectively. TCS is up 1% at Rs 829.

The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 2,876 stocks traded so far, 1,795 have declined, 991 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.