Markets ended in negative terrain amid extreme volatility through the day as selling pressure was seen in technology, FMCG, pharma, select banking and realty stocks while buying in metal, oil & gas and auto stocks. The Sensex swung nearly 290 points and Nifty 114 points.

Infosys, TCS, BHEL, Satyam, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Ranbaxy Labs and HDFC were draggers for both indices while Reliance Ind, ONGC, SBI, Tata Steel, SAIL and L&T were being supportive.

The Sensex closed at 13,330.51, down by 139.34 points or 1.03% after hitting an intraday high of 13,559.36 and low of 13,269.62. Nifty lost 9.03 points or 0.23% to settle at 4039.70. It has hit a high/low of 4118.10 and 4004.25, respectively.

Market breadth was negative; about 1163 shares have advanced while 1755 shares declined. Nearly 228 shares remained unchanged.

Amongst frontliners, Satyam plunged 7.92%, Infosys -7.18%, HCL Tech -5.74%, TCS -3.85% and HDFC -3.38% while Sterlite Ind gained 3.74%, ONGC 3.09%, NTPC 3.09%, M&M 2.91% and SBI 2.90%.

Infosys Technologies was biggest losing counter in frontliners due to steep fall in its ADRs in US markets after weak guidance in dollar terms. Another stock is HCL Tech, which crashed around 10% in today's trade because the company reported forex loss of $ 65-75 million for Q4 including MTM and will incur forex loss of $ 67-77 million in FY08 including MTM.

BSE IT Index plunged 5.94% or 232.04 points to close at 3,675.59 due to selling in Satyam, Infosys, HCL Tech, Mphasis, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Patni Computer and Wipro.

FMCG stocks like ITC, Nestle, United Spirits, Dabur India, Ruchi Soya and Marico have lost ground. Index fell 1.46% at 1,958.29.

Ranbaxy Labs was one of top losers, down nearly 11% on the news that US FDA has taken Ranbaxy to court for systematic fraudulent conduct. USFDA believes violations have resulted in adulterated and misbranded drugs.

BSE Healthcare Index dropped 50 points or 1.21% at 4,079.92. Top losing counters were Ranbaxy Labs, Ipca Labs, Orchid Chemical, Sun Pharma Adv, Novartis India and Wyeth.

Bankex lost 1.23% to settle at 5,970.52 due to selling in Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, IOB, Federal Bank and Bank of India.

Realty stocks like Anant Raj Ind, Orbit Corporation, Unitech, Mahindra Life, Parsvnath, Phoenix Mills, HDIL, Sobha Developer and Omaxe have collapsed. Index was down 0.78% at 4,762.53.

Capital Goods Index fell 0.32% at 10,740.01 as selling was seen in Crompton Greaves, Areva T&D, Astra Microwave, BHEL, Jyoti Structure, Greaves Cotton, BEML and Alstom Projects.

BSE Midcap index lost 0.64% at 5,330.80 and Small Cap down 1.1% at 6,640.06. Amongst midcap stocks, Bajaj Holdings, Anant Raj Ind, Himadri Chem, Mphasis, Orbit Corporation, IFCI and Motilal Oswal fell 5-6.5%.

In the small cap space, Sparsh BPO Svcs, SpiceJet, EIH Assoc Hotel, Ramcoind and Fortis Financia have plunged 9-15.5%.

However, Metal Index outperformed other indices, jumped 185.48 points or 1.46% at 12,897.19 due to selling in Hind Zinc, Jai Corp, NMDC, Sterlite Ind, Tata Steel, SAIL, NALCO and Ispat Industries.

Oil stocks like ONGC, Reliance Ind, IOC, Essar Oil and HPCL have gained. Index shot up 1.11% or 98.79 points at 8,985.07.

Auto Index was up 1.05% at 3,566.49 on the back of buying in Punj Tractors, M&M, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, Amtek Auto, Apollo Tyres, Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland.

Most active counters on the bourses were Reliance Ind, Reliance Infra, Ranbaxy Labs, Infosys Tech, Reliance Capital and KSK Energy Ventures.

Turnover traded by markets stood at Rs 54,916.22 crore. This includes Rs 10,353.99 crore from NSE Cash segment, Rs 40,096.24 crore from NSE F&O and the balance Rs 4,465.99 crore from BSE Cash segment.

Asian markets were trading weak. Hang Seng fell 1.3%, Taiwan -1.4%, Kospi -0.6%, Straits Times -1.6% and Jakarta -0.7%. However, Nikkei was up marginally and Shanghai 0.3%.