Sensex ends down 189pts

The Sensex closed down 189 points at 17,511 (provisional).  Nifty closed at 5251 down 61 points.
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(Updated at 1437 hrs)

The Sensex has recovered some of its losses, soon after hitting a low of 17,445. The index is now down 197 points at 17,503 - recovering around 50 points in the process.

The Nifty is down 69 points at 5,244.

BSE FMCG index is flat at 3,228 and has recovered almost 1% from the day's low. Power and PSU indices are also inching towards the dotted line.

Hindustan Unilever has gained 1.6% at Rs 271. NTPC has jumped 1% to Rs 201.

Bharti Airtel and Tata Power have added marginally.

However, metal stocks continue to be in red with Sterlite dropping 3% to Rs 165. Tata Steel has shed 2.3% at Rs 474. Jindal Steel and Hindalco slipped 1-2% each.

Reliance Communications has dropped 2.7% to Rs 193. IT stocks are down. TCS has slipped 2.4% to Rs 732. Wipro has declined 2% to Rs 378.

ICICI Bank, SBI, Maruti, DLF, BHEL and Mahindra are the other big losers. Reliance is down 1% at Rs 1076.

BSE market breadth is marginally positive. Out of 2913 stocks traded, 1435 have advanced while 1393 have declined.