Sensex slips again; metal stocks drop

The Sensex has once again slipped deeper into red. The index after recovering from early losses had rallied to a high of 11,879. However, a fresh round of selling had dragged the index to 11,689 - down 133 points from previous close.

Cement stocks are holding gains. Gujarat Ambuja has rallied 4.5% to Rs 105. ACC has surged over 2% to Rs 881, and Grasim has gained over 1% to Rs 2,150.

Cipla has tumbled 4.4% to Rs 254. Dr.Reddy's has dropped 1.7% to Rs 1,567.

Hindalco has shed 3.7% to Rs 202, and Tata Steel is down 3% at Rs 568.

BHEL has plunged 3% to Rs 2,187, and Larsen & Toubro is down 1.6% to Rs 2,667. HDFC Bank has slipped over 2% to Rs 829.

Tata Power and NTPC are down 2% each at Rs 557 and Rs 127, respectively. Reliance Energy has shed 1.6% to Rs 577.

The market breadth is extremely negative. Out of 1,913 stocks traded so far, 1,241 have declined, 638 have advanced and 34 are unchanged.