Sensex down marginally; M&M soars 6%

The Sensex opened 37 points higher at 8,793, and touched a high of 8,828 in opening trades. The index, thereafter, erased gains and slipped into red to a low of 8,709. The Sensex is now down 23 points at 8,734.

Mahindra & Mahindra has saored 6% to Rs 365. Jaiprakash Associates has surged 4.5% to Rs 74.

Ranbaxy has gained 3% at Rs 143, and Tata Motors has rallied 2.5% to Rs 166.

SBI has advanced nearly 2% to Rs 971. ICICI Bank and DLF have moved up over 1.5% each to Rs 314 and Rs 155, respectively.

HDFC has plunged over 3% to Rs 1,337. Sun Pharma has shed 2.6% at Rs 995.

Maruti has dropped 2.3% to Rs 696. Reliance Infrastructure has tumbled 2% to Rs 458.

Sterlite has declined 1.7% to Rs 278. Infosys, Tata Power and Reliance Communications are down over 1% each at Rs 1,280, Rs 655 and Rs 145, respectively.

The market breadth is positive - out of 1,930 stocks traded so far, 1,058 have advanced, 780 have declined and the rest are unchanged.