Sensex pares early gains, slumps 232 pts in mid-session trade

Taking a sharp U-turn by giving up all its early gains, the benchmark BSE Sensex plunged over 232 points in mid-session trade today, tracking a weak opening in the European markets.
The NSE Nifty too came under pressure, which cracked below the psychological 7,800-mark.
The 30-share index, which rose over 268 points in early trade, succumbed to widespread profit-booking to quote 232.75 points or 0.91 per cent lower at 25,204.42 at 1345 hrs.
The index had shed 170 points in yesterday's trade on plunge in Tokyo equities and disappointing domestic corporate earnings along with a fall in manufacturing sector activity.

Sectoral indices led by IT, FMCG, technology, oil&gas, PSU, healthcare and banking tumbled up to 1.32 per cent, dragging down the key indices.
The NSE Nifty dipped below the 7,800-mark by dropping 70.75 points or 0.90 per cent to 7,735.15.

Sentiment turned bearish after European stocks extended their lowest level in three weeks, as investors weighed a slew of earnings reports by lenders, brokers said.
Major losers were Coal India, Lupin, HUL, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, ITC Ltd, Infosys, ONGC, Wipro, NTPC, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and M&M, falling by up to 2.25 per cent.
In Europe, FTSE fell 0.54 per cent while France's CAC was down 1 per cent.

From Asia, Shanghai Composite index perked up by 1.85 per cent.