The Sensex was trading lower by 43 points, while the Nifty dropped 22 points in opening trade. Among the top losers in trade from the Nifty were ACC, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance, Larsen, TCS and Tata Steel.

Among the top gainers in trade from the Nifty were Bhel, Dr Reddy's, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Wipro.

Tata Motors gained despite the company reporting a sharp decline in total vehicle sales for February 2013.

NMDC dropped 1.27 per cent, after the miner reduced prices of higher grade iron ore by about 2.5 per cent for the current month.

Hindalco hit a fresh 52-week low after the National Green Tribunal dismissed the company's plea challenging the Maharashtra government's refusal to grant it three more months, after expiry of its forest clearance, to transport around 1.6 lakh tonnes of bauxite mined from Kolhapur district.

Realty stocks continue to slide with Oberoi Realty, HDIL, DLF, Anant Raj and Godrej Properties all falling in trade.

PSU banking stocks too continued to decline with prominent losers from the space being Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank, Union Bank and Syndicate bank.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia fell sharply led by losses in the Chinese Shanghai Composite and the Hong Kong's Hang Sang.

GoodReturns.in