Sensex extends losses; ONGC, SBI, Sterlite, HUL, L&T drag

At 13:34 hours IST - the benchmark Sensex shed more than 100 points in afternoon trade, dragged by FMCG, capital goods, auto, realty, cement, select financial and metal companies' shares. Heavyweight ONGC plunged 2.8%. Even broader markets were under pressure; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices slipped 0.7-1%.

However, indices were getting some support from shares like Bharti, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, TCS, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel along with power companies' shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 20,173, down 127 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 37 points to 6,042. However, the Nifty January Futures were trading at 26 points premium. Arjuna Mahendran, Managing Director and Head of Investment Strategy Asia, HSBC Private Bank said,