Global peers, IT stocks drag markets

Mumbai : The markets, today, ended near the day's low on weakness witnessed in auto and IT stocks. Cues from the European peers also dampened investor sentiments, taking the Sensex to a low of 18,449 - down 93 points from the previous close. The index finally ended down 55 points at 18,507.

Mid-day today, the European bourses opened in red, with the CAC down 1.2%, DAX and FTSE too down around 1% each. Also, in Asia, markets ended in the negative terrain on worries that the US government may not be able to settle on an agreement to cut the fiscal deficit. Hang Seng slipped 0.3% to 21,804. New Zealand and Seoul Composite saw cuts of 0.6% each.