The markets slipped into the red on back of selling pressure being witnessed by oil & gas, healthcare, IT, metal and PSU stocks. The Sensex was lower by 112 points at 18,327 and the S&P CNX Nifty was at 5491 lower by 29 points.
ONGC was the top loser among the Sensex stocks, the stocks was trading at Rs 267 lower by 1.6%, followed by index heavyweight Reliance Industries down 1.3% to Rs 971. The stock was trading lower on back of the show cause notice sent by Sebi in a matter related to conversion of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) into equity shares by various promoter-entities, allegedly breaching the rules on creeping acquisition.
Cipla, Sterlite Industries, Infosys, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, HDFC, Wipro, State Bank of India, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were also among the losers. On the other hand DLF, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Hero Honda, Hindalco and Reliance Communication were among the gainers.
On the sectoral front the BSE Oil & Gas index was the top loser the index slipped, 137 points or 14% to 9504, Healthcare index lost 36 points or 0.6% to 5836. IT, metal, and PSU stocks also reeled under the selling pressure. Meanwhile Consumer Durable, Realty,Auto, Banking and Capital Goods indices continued to trade in the green.
HPCL was the top loser among the Oil & Gas stocks, followed by BPCL, Cairn India, Indian Oil, Reliance Industries and GAIL. Among the healthcare stocks Glenmark Pharma was the top loser followed by Sun Pharma, Cipla, Ranbaxy, Jubilant Life Sciences, Biocon and Dr Reddy's Lab.
The broader markets continued to trade higher, the BSE mid-cap index was at 6580 higher by 18 points and the small-cap index was higher by 46 points at 7991.
The overall market breadth remained marginally positive as 1392 stocks advanced while 1064 stocks declined.
