Nifty off Highs; Auto stocks in focus, Maruti down

After beginning the day with great confidence amid a firming trend in other Asian markets following overnight gains on the Wall Street, benchmark indices fell victim to profit booking. At 11 am, the Sensex stocks came off sharply from their morning highs. The index was trading only 0.08 percent higher at 26176.80 while the Nifty lost its initial proximity to the 8000 level and precariously clung to 7939.50. HCL tech remained biggest drag on the Nifty.

Auto stocks remained in focus as companies prepare to announce their September sales report card. Maruti Suzuki, which had run up the previous few sessions was among the top Sensex losers as it reported slight dent in its annual exports and grew only in single digits. The company's total sales Y-o-Y was higher by 3.7 percent at 1.13 lakh units.

Tata Motors, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Auto were other prominent losers in the auto sector while Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp and M&M were gainers.

Auto stocks remained in focus as companies prepare to announce their September sales report card. At 11 am, the market was looking weak. The Sensex came off sharply from its morning highs and was trading only 0.08 percent higher at 26176.80. The Nifty lost its initial proximity to the 8000 level and precariously clung to 7939.50.

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