Sensex extends losses, Nifty holds 7050; Maruti up

The market extended losses with the Sensex falling 169.13 points or 0.72 percent to 23241.05. The Nifty held 7050 level amid pressure, down 49.65 points or 0.70 percent to 7059.90.

ICICI Bank, ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, Dr Reddy's Labs, PNB, Cairn India and Vedanta were down 1-4 percent while HUL, Maruti Suzuki, BPCL, Grasim, Zee Entertainment and Power Grid Corp were early gainers.

The market breadth was weak as about two shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continued to be leading contributors to Sensex's fall, down 1-2 percent.

Asia stocks traded mostly down, with a combination of low oil prices, concerns over China and weak overnight data weighing on investor sentiment. Hang Seng lost 1.5 percent followed by Nikkei and Shanghai with 0.7 percent & 0.2 percent loss, respectively.