Sensex down 600pts; ICICI Bank slumps 13%

The Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 696 points at 10,632 on the back of negative cues from the global markets amid liquidity crunch as fears of a deeper US recession worries investors worldwide.

The index soon tumbled to a low of 10,240 - down 1,088 points (9.6%) - very close to its 10% lower circuit. A sudden bout of buying following a 150bps CRR cut by the RBI saw the index recover and touch a high of 10,904.

The index, however, has come down from the its higher levels and is now down 594 points at 10,734.

ICICI Bank has slumped almost 13% to Rs 395, and Reliance Communications has plunged 10.7% to Rs 269.

Tata Steel and Jaiprakash Associates have cracked nearly 9% each at Rs 308 and Rs 93, respectively. HDFC has crashed 8.5% to Rs 1,727.

BHEL and Satyam have tumbled nearly 8% each to Rs 1,352 and Rs 244, respectively.

Reliance Infrastructure, Wipro, Reliance, Bharti Airtel and TCS have shed 7% each at Rs 593, Rs 263, Rs 1,535, Rs 682 and Rs 509, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro, Infosys and DLF have slipped around 6% each to Rs 907, Rs 1,179 and Rs 291, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever has declined 5% to Rs 226.