Sensex down over 100pts

The markets extended losses in mid-noon trades. The Sensex touched a low of 18,261, and is now down 111 points at 18,298. The NSE Nifty has declined 42 points at 5501.

Realty and metal stocks continue to sag under the selling pressure. The BSE Realty index has shed 2.7% at 3602 and the Metal index has dropped 2.1% to 15,161.

Meanwhile, the European markets too started the day on a negative note weighed by weakness in energy shares on weak global demand. The FTSE 100 is down 68 points at 5167. The DAX and CAC are down 64 and 46 points respectively. The US futures too indicate a weak opening to Dow Jones, down around 80 points.

Elsewhere, the Asian markets too ended in red led by weak cues from the Japanese markets. The Nikkei and Hang Seng both slipped over 1% each to 8995 and 20,659, respectively.

Metal majors - Sterlite and Hindalco are the top Sensex losers - down 4.5% and 4%, respectively. DLF has dropped 2.5%.

Tata Steel, Reliance Infrastructure, Jaiprakash Associates, Maruti, Jindal Steel, ONGC and Infosys are the other prominent losers.

Bharti Airtel, however, continues to buck the trend. The stock is now up 1.7% at Rs 322. TCS and Reliance Communications are also up 1% each.