Mumbai: Indian equities markets that opened in the green on Tuesday morning remained choppy in the second half and slid to close in the red, with the Sensex shedding over 300 points from the day's high.

The stock markets started the day on a positive note following international cues but failed to sustain the momentum with heavy selling pressures in oil & gas, IT, technology, automobiles and capital goods scrips.

The 30-share BSE index opened at 17,008.03 points and notched a high of 17,085.63 before closing at 16,752.86 points. It lost 108.04 points or 0.64 per cent at the day's close.

The S&P CNX Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which opened at 5,008.60 points, closed below the 5,000-mark at 4,957.80 points, Monday's closing figure, after touching the day's high at 5,066.00 points.

At close, it registered a loss of 54.85 points or 1.09 per cent.

The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 6,956.81 points, remained in the green, gaining 10.90 points or 0.16 per cent.

Similarly, the BSE Smallcap index, which closed at 8,397.71 points, went down 5.85 points or 0.07 per cent.

On BSE, the market breadth was mixed marked by low trading volumes. A total of 1,410 shares advanced, 1,304 shares declined and 70 shares remained unchanged.

The Asian markets were mixed with FTSE and CAC closing in the red on Tuesday.

The top gainers of the day included Hindalco at Rs.179.95, up 2.83 per cent; Jaiprakash Associates at Rs.253.25, up 2.78 per cent; Reliance Infrastructure at Rs.1,381.25, up 1.78 per cent; and Satyam at Rs.495.95, up 1.31 per cent.

The top losers included ONGC at Rs.997.10, down 3.08 per cent; Wipro at Rs.494.20, down 2.66 per cent; ACC at Rs.683.00, down 2.66 per cent; and TCS at Rs.905.70, down 2.33 per cent.

Source : IANS