Selling persists; SBI, Reliance decline 3%

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 170 points at 9,160, and then touched a low of 9,034. The index is now down 241 points at 9,089.

HDFC and Tata Steel have slumped 5% each to Rs 1,468 and Rs 198, respectively.

Bharti Airtel and Mahindra & Mahindra have plunged 4.5% each to Rs 618 and Rs 296, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, ICICI Bank and Reliance Communications have slipped over 4% each to Rs 66, Rs 396 and Rs 177, respectively.

Hindalco has tumbled nearly 4% to Rs 49. ACC and Maruti have dropped 3.3% each to Rs 485 and Rs 560, respectively.

HDFC Bank, DLF, Sterlite, SBI, Reliance and Grasim have declined around 3% each.

The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 2,085 stocks traded so far, 1,205 have declined, 804 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.