Sensex slips further, down 42 pts

Sustained selling pressure in tech, banking, cement, auto and other select old economy stocks has pushed the index deep into the red to a current low of 6,405. It is now down 42 points at 6,409. The Nifty is down 13 points at 2,032.

Infosys has lost 1.31% (Rs 28) to Rs 2,088. While Wipro has dropped 2.14% (Rs 16) to Rs 753, Satyam has declined 2.10% (Rs 10) to Rs 408.

SBI has slipped 1.50% (Rs 9) to Rs 594. Other banking major are also trading at weaker levels.

Grasim has shed 1.71% (Rs 22) to Rs 1,288. While Gujarat Ambuja has lost 1.90% (Rs 7) to Rs 387, ACC is down 1.19% (Rs 4) at Rs 316.

Tata Power has dipped 2.69% (Rs 10) to Rs 377, and BHEL is down 1.49% (Rs 11) at Rs 721. Zee has declined 2.18% (Rs 4) to Rs 175.

Reliance has gained 1.30% (Rs 6) to Rs 492, and ITC is up a tad at Rs 1,310. HLL, however, is down a rupee at Rs 144.

Bajaj has added 1.58% (Rs 17) to Rs 1,117. Other auto pivotals, however, are trading at lower levels.

Bharti has gained nearly 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 203.

India Cement has slumped 5.41% (Rs 3) to Rs 53. While Polaris has lost 4.28% (Rs 7) to Rs 158, National Fertilizers is down 3.78% at Rs 40.

Select counters have bucked the trend and clocked gains on buying support. Crompton Greaves has shot up 5.64% (Rs 15) to Rs 286, and Indian Rayon has moved up 3.69% (Rs 13) to Rs 354. Andhra Bank and Neyveli Lignite are up nearly 3% each at Rs 80 and Rs 70, respectively.

SAIL with a volume of over 33.11 lakh on the BSE is leading the pack, followed by Reliance (24.53 lakh), Ashok Leyland (17.66 lakh) and NTPC (17.31 lakh), respectively.

Reliance is leading the value chart with a turnover of Rs 122 crore, followed by Infosys (Rs 68 crore), SBI (Rs 42 crore), Satyam (Rs 36 crore) and Tisco (Rs 30 crore), respectively.