Sensex ends down 96pts

The Sensex ended (provisional) at 16992 - down 96 points.

The Nifty ended at 5,090  - down 35 points.
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(Updated at 1432 hrs)

Markets have recovered from its low and is now trading with some weakness.

The Sensex is down 33 points at 17,055. The Nifty is down ten points at 5,115.

The BSE small-cap index has managed to hold on to gains and isnow up marginally at 9,001.

Most of the indices have remained in red, allthough BSE healthcare index has jumped 1.5% to 5433. PSU and bankex are up marginally.

Tata Motors has dropped 1.5% to Rs 823. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications have shed 1.5% each to Rs 293 and Rs 157, respectively.

Wipro has slipped 1.2% to Rs 663.

HDFC, ACC, Sterlite and DLF have moved down around 1% each. BHEL, Reliance Infrastructure and Tata Power are among the other big losers.

However, Cipla has gained 3% at Rs 346. Hindustan Unilever has added 2.6% to Rs 235.

Grasim and ONGC have added 1% each to Rs 2,615 and Rs 1,043, respectively.

The BSE market breadth is marginaly negative. Out of 2883 stocks traded, 1479 have declined while 1304 have advanced.