Selling commences, Sensex drops 41 pts

The market is under the grip of a bearish trend as sustained selling pressure in old and new economy stocks has seen the Sensex plunge deep into the red in mid-morning trades.

The Sensex has dropped 41 points to 6,563, while the Nifty has lost 14 points to 2,049.

Reliance has dropped a per cent (Rs 4) to Rs 561, and HLL is down a rupee Rs 130. 

Wipro has lost 1.64% (Rs 11) to Rs 669. While Satyam is down a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 419, Infosys is down a rupee at Rs 2,229 after a steady positive opening.

SBI has slipped a per cent (Rs 7) to Rs 660. ICICI Bank is trading on a sluggish note at Rs 417 - down Rs 2. HDFC Bank is up a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 558.

HPCL has edged lower by 1.64% (Rs 5) to Rs 315. While Tisco has lost 1.60% (Rs 6) to Rs 387, Tata Power is down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 354.

Tata Motors has tumbled 3.57% (Rs 15) to Rs 409. While Maruti has shed 2.17% (Rs 9) to Rs 411, Hero Honda is trading lower by a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 534. Bajaj has logged 1.25% gains (Rs 13) to Rs 1,077.

Gujarat Ambuja has declined 2.57% (Rs 11) to Rs 414, and Grasim is down 1.10% (Rs 14) at Rs 1,220.

While ONGC is trading firm with a gains of 1.45% (Rs 13) at Rs 906, ITC is up with a steady gain of Rs 2 at Rs 1,352.

Select capital goods stocks have attracted buying support. Gammon has surged nearly 5% (Rs 12) to Rs 255, while BEML has advanced 3.80% (Rs 18) to Rs 485. Greaves Cotton has moved up 2.92% (Rs 4) to Rs 137, and Fag Bearing has gained 2.50% (Rs 5) to Rs 191. Alstom is up a per cent at Rs 72.

Metal stocks have lost ground. Sun Iron & Steel has shed 3.58% to Rs 17, while Uttam Galva has declined 3.48% to Rs 63. Mukand, Essar Steel, Jindal Steel, Hind Zinc, Ispat and Sail are down in a range of 1-3%.