Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in the red; auto stocks fall

The markets continued trading in the red, shrugging off Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement at the CII annual general meeting on Wednesday that his government will do everything it takes to achieve 8 per cent growth.

At 11.30 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex traded at 18,985.23, down 55.72 points, or 0.29 per cent.  The NSE Nifty also fell 20.45 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 5,727.65.

The auto pack - led by Bajaj Auto (2.42 per cent) and Hero MotoCorp (1.09 per cent) - saw the sharpest declines after disappointing March sales numbers announced on Tuesday. However, Maruti bucked the trend, gaining 1.12 per cent. India's biggest car maker sold 1.19 lakh units in March against estimates of 1.15 units. The BSE Auto Index traded 0.89 per cent lower.

Major losers on the Sensex included Bharti Airtel (3.23 per cent), Bajaj Auto (2.16 per cent) and Tata Motors (1.80 per cent). The major gainers included Tata Power (4.82 per cent), Sun Pharma (2.24 per cent) and Maruti.

Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers was up 11.58 per cent after reports that Zuari Fertilizers had acquired a 9.72 per cent stake in the company.

Shares in Adani Power continued rallying (up 13 per cent) after a newspaper reported regulators would allow the power utility company to raise tariffs for electricity provided from its plant in Mundra in the state of Gujarat.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission will allow Adani Power "compensatory" tariffs for electricity from its Indian plant, the report stated.