Mumbai: Sensex closes at 14,571, down 516 pts.

Earlier, equity markets were trading flat early on Friday, with selling pressure on realty, metal and banking stocks.

The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened with a gain 80.06 points at 15,168.05. Ten minutes into trading, it had fallen to 15,084.82 points, with a loss of 3.17 points or 0.02 percent from its closing figure on Thursday.

At the same time the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 4,494.35 points with a loss of 9.90 points or 0.22 per cent from its last close. The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 824 shares advanced, 372 declined and 33 remained unchanged.

ONGC, HDFC and Ambuja Cements were among the top gainers while Maruti Suzuki, Jaiprakash Associate and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers in initial trade. Other Asian markets were trading lower.

Source : IANS