Market choppy; autos, IT, oil & gas, pharma dip

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The benchmark Sensex was trading with moderate loss amid volatility - especially after a fall in European markets. Technology, oil & gas, auto, healthcare and major financial stocks were on sellers' radar.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,485, down 78 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 25 points to 5,556. Even broader indices came off their day's high.

European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 1% each. Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures too lost more than 0.5%. Gold touched a new high of USD 1601 an ounce.

Heavyweights NTPC, L&T and TCS slipped 2-2.5%. Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank declined 1-1.5%. ONGC, Infosys, Wipro and SBI slipped marginally.

Tata Motors, M&M, Cipla, Reliance Communications, Dr Reddy's Labs and Sesa Goa were down 1-2%.

However, BHEL and Hindalco were the leading gainers on Nifty, with rising 2.5-3%. HDFC Bank ahead of results tomorrow, HDFC and HUL gained 1% each.

Tata Power, Sterlite, DLF, Reliance Infrastructure and SAIL were other gainers.

Midcaps like Godfrey Phillip, TTK Prestige, Sujana Towers, Himadri Chemical and Alstom Projects rallied 6-9% while Nava Bharat Ventures, Glodyne Tech, KGN Industries, Amtek Auto and GTL lost 3-4%.

Smallcaps like Global Offshore and Sterling Holiday were locked at 20% upper circuit. OCL Iron, Greenply Industries and Tilaknagar Industries were up 11-13%. However, Newtime Infra, SV Electricals, Graviss Hosp, Kalyani Invest and Parrys Sugar fell 4-5%.