Sensex down 72pts; Grasim surges 4%

The Sensex is now down 72 points at 8,771. Earlier in the day, the index opened 136 points lower at 8,707, and then slipped to a low of 8,619.

Tata Steel has slumped 4.5% to Rs 160, and HDFC has tumbled 4% to Rs 1,300.

Jaiprakash Associates has tumbled nearly 3% to Rs 65. Reliance Infrastructure and Sterlite have shed around 2.5% each at Rs 478 and Rs 242, respectively.

Wipro has slipped 1.8% to Rs 212. Reliance and HDFC Bank have declined around 1.5% each to Rs 1,235 and Rs 855, respectively.

Grasim has surged nearly 4% to Rs 1,396. Mahindra & Mahindra has rallied 3.5% to Rs 291, and Ranbaxy has gained 2% at Rs 211.

The market breadth is very negative - out of 2,253 stocks traded so far, 1,512 have declined, 646 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.