Sensex down 250 points; auto, metal stocks plunge

Mumbai, Jan 18 (IANS) The key Indian equity indices traded on a negative note on Monday morning with the BSE Sensex falling over 250 points.Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in auto, metal and oil and gas stocks.Around 10.10 a.m., Sensex was trading at 48,777.74, lower by 256.93 points or 0.52 per cent from its previous close of 49,034.67.It opened at 49,061.22 and has so far recorded an intraday high of 49,122.23 and a low of 48,691.63 pointsThe Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 14,343.60, lower by 90.10 points or 0.62 per cent from its previous close.The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank, HCL Technologies and TCS, while the major losers were Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance.
--IANS rrb/sn/dpb