Sensex down 679pts; Sterlite, ICICI Bank plunge 13%

The Sensex witnessed a sharp recovery from a low of 10,742 to 11,332 - up nearly 600 points in a matter of less than an hour. The index, however, has slipped back to lower levels and is now down 679 points at 11,016.

Sterlite and ICICI Bank have slumped around 13% each to Rs 273 and Rs 424, respectively.

Wipro has plunged 12% to Rs 270, and Satyam has tumbled 10.5% to Rs 250.

Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Infrastructure adn Tata Steel have shed  9% each at Rs 92, Rs 592 and Rs 325, respectively.

HDFC Bank and TCS have dropped around 8.5% each to Rs 1,030 and Rs 528, respectively.

ITC and Reliance Communications have slipped nearly 8% each to Rs 161 and Rs 277, respectively.

Hindalco has declined 7% to Rs 88.  Reliance is down 6.5% at Rs 1,567.

Ranbaxy has gained 4.3% at Rs 267.

The market breadth is extremely negative - out of 2,497 stocks traded so far, 2,212 have declined, 249 have advanced and 36 are unchanged.