Sensex eases, down 4 pts; tech stocks hold firm

The Sensex, which rallied sharply to gain slightly over 40 points in early trades, faltered under sustained selling pressure to dip to a low of 6,510.

The Sensex, in current trades, has pared losses on tech gains, and is now down four points at 6,524. The Nifty, too, has eased into the red to 2,008 - down five points.

ONGC has shed 1.11% (Rs 10) to Rs 880. Reliance (down Rs 3 to Rs 537) and ITC (down Rs 4 to Rs 1,484) have slipped from higher levels. HLL is down a notch at Rs 133.

Bajaj, after opening weak, has edged lower by 1.24% (Rs 15) to Rs 1,177, while Maruti is down a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 449. Hero Honda (up Rs 3 to Rs 555) and Tata Motors (up a rupee to Rs 449) have trimmed their gains.

BHEL has slipped a per cent (Rs 6) to Rs 855.

Infosys, Wipro and Satyam are up a per cent each at Rs 2,097 (up Rs 20), Rs 664 (up Rs 5) and Rs 434 (up Rs 5), respectively.

HDFC Bank is trading off-gains at Rs 538. SBI (up a rupee to Rs 634) and ICICI Bank (up Rs 2 to Rs 398) have shed some gains on profit-taking.

Grasim and Gujarat Ambuja have logged marginal gains at Rs 1,138 and Rs 444, respectively. ACC is marginally down at Rs 389.