Sensex down 176 points; auto stocks tank

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Wednesday was trading 176.27 points or 0.69 percent down on heavy selling in auto, capital goods, metal, healthcare, IT and banking scrips.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 25,615.28 points, was trading at 25,405.84 points (at 2.45 p.m.) in the afternoon session, down 176.27 points or 0.69 percent from the previous day's close at 25,582.11 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 25,683.97 points and a low of 25,369.21 points in the trade so far.

The S&P BSE auto index tanked by 457.24 points, capital goods index dropped by 195.20 points, metal index dipped by 137.16 points, healthcare index went down by 157.14 points, IT index slipped by 132.19 points and bankex went down by 76.19 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 48.50 points or 0.64 percent down at 7,574.70 points.