Markets are facing the first major correction in nearly 6 weeks and the Sensex has declined almost 200 points. Asian markets continue to be weak and Europe has also opened with losses.

Sensex is trading lower by 197 points at 11722 at 01.10 PM.

Nifty is now trading lower by 60 points at 3412.

Metal stocks have lost further ground in early afternoon trades. Hindalco remains the worst performer among index stocks and has lost more than 4 per cent.

Among other metal stocks, Sterlite Industries has slipped 4.5 per cent while Nalco is down more than 3.5 per cent. Tata Steel has lost more than 3 per cent and SAIL has declined after a firm start.

Power utilities have also lost further after the weak opening. Tata Power is now down 4 per cent and Reliance Energy has lost nearly 3 per cent.

VSNL is a major loser in early afternoon trades and has lost 4 per cent. MTNL has slipped more than 2.5 per cent.

Among index heavies, Reliance Industries is down nearly 2.5 per cent and ONGC has lost well over a per cent.

TCS has lost over 2 per cent while Satyam and Infosys have shed nearly 1.5 per cent each. Wipro is down nearly 2 per cent.

Other stocks which were weak in morning trades have also lost further ground. HLL is now down 3.5 per cent and IPCL has lost more than 3 per cent. Tata Motors has lost close to 3 per cent.

There are only a handful of gainers among Nifty stocks. Hero Honda is holding on to its 2 per cent gains and is the best performer among index stocks.

Jet Airways also remains firm and is still trading more than 1.5 per cent higher.

Zee Tele has come off its highs and is now trading nearly 1.5 per cent higher.

Reliance Communications has also shed part of its gains and is now up more than 0.5 per cent.

BPCL is holding on to modest gains of less than 0.5 per cent.

Mid-caps and small caps have also come under pressure in early afternoon trades. The NSE mid-cap index is now trading with losses of nearly 1.4 per cent. BSE mid-cap index has lost close to 1.3 per cent and the small-cap index is down 1.4 per cent. Market breadth on the NSE is very negative with more than 3.5 stocks declining for every advancing stock.

Hotel Leela, Bluestar, Sakuma Exports, Exide Industries, Orient Paper, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Subhash Projects, Precision Wires, Balkrishna Industries, and INOX Leisure are among the major mid-cap gainers.

HMT, BEPL, RCF, ITI, IVRCL Infrastructure, Jaysree Tea and Emami Limited are the major mid-cap losers.