Markets slide on global cues

Metal, auto shares lead losses

Key share indices have made a gap down opening on Friday tracking sharp sell off in global equities. At 9:45, the 30-share Sensex was down 194 points at 15,877 and the 50-share Nifty was down 61 points at 4,809.

Meanwhile, the rupee fell to a record low against the dollar for the third consecutive day on Friday as risk aversion made a strong comeback with Asian stocks showing deep cuts and euro falling to a four-month low. The rupee was last trading at 54.76, breaching its previous all-time low of 54.60 hit on Thursday.

Overnight, US stocks added to losses late on Thursday, as higher Spanish bond yields increased investor anxiety over that country's banks and another round of weak data undermined hopes for US economic recovery.  The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 1.1% to 12,465. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.3% to 1,308.

Brent oil prices dropped 2% on Thursday on concerns about the health of Spain's banks and the prospect of Greece leaving the euro zone.

Asian shares fell steeply on Friday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei stock average opened down 1.7%. The Nikkei and Hang Seng were down over 2.3% each while the Shanghai Composite and Straits Times were down over 1% each.

Back home, all the sectoral indices are trading in red zone. BSE Auto index has tumbled by over 2% followed by counters like Capital Goods, Consumer Durable, Metal, Power, Technology, Banks, FMCG and Realty, all plunging by nearly 1% each.

Tata Motors is the top Sensex loser, down nearly 3%. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, M&M and Hero Moto have slipped between 1-3%.

Metal shares like Sterlite, Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel and CIL have melted between 1-2.5%.

Capital Goods majors L&T and BHEL have plummeted between 1-2%.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has slipped by almost 2%. The company has slashed prices of its third-generation (3G) mobile data services by about 70% under some plans.

Other frontline losers include Infosys, GAIL, ITC, Tata Power, HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma.

Meanwhile, Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index has plunged by 1.05% whereas BSE Smallcap index is down 0.93%.

Among other shares, Mahindra Satyam has soared almost 8% at Rs 72 in opening trades on reporting 73% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth in net profit at Rs 534 crore, on back of robust other income.

The market breadth in BSE remains weak with 1,045 shares declining and 394 shares advancing.