Sensex ends down 39 pts

Metal, auto shares hold on to gains

Sensex ends down (provisional) 39 points at 17847. Nifty ended down six points at 5,415.
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(Updated at 1420 hrs)

Markets continued to trade on a lacklustre note in late noon deals. The Sensex was trading flat at 17,894 on soft cues from global bourses. Nifty was up five points at 5426.

Asian markets slipped ended in red. Japan reported a wider-than-expected trade deficit in July as Europe's sovereign debt crisis and a slowdown in China dragged down exports and higher oil prices boosted imports. Japan's Nikkei slipped 25 points at 9,131. Hang Seng shed 1%, followed by Shanghai Composite and Taiwan Weighted.

BSE healthcare index has gained 0.7% to 7,392. Auto. PSU and metal shares were holding on to gains - up around half a per cent each. Meanwhile, BSE power index has slipped 0.6% to 1,946. Realty and oil & gas space have also showed some weakness.

DR Reddy's jumped 2% to Rs 1,690. Hindalco added 1.3%, followed by auto names such as Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto. SBI, Infosys, Tata Steel also moved up in trades.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel shed 3% to Rs 251. Power shares - Tata Power, NTPC declined 1.2% each. Among other losers were Gail, HDFC and Jindal Steel. Market heavyweight - Reliance Industries, dropped 0.4% at Rs 811.

BSE market breadth is neutral. Out of 2,836 stocks traded, 1,352 shares have advanced while 1,338 shares have declined.