Sensex off day's low, down 150pts

The Sensex has recovered partially from the day's low of 8,140, and is now down 150 points at 8,176. Earlier in the day, the index opened 67 points lower, and then dropped to a low of 8,140 in early noon trades.

The BSE FMCG has plunged over 3% to 1,793. The Realty index has shed 2.7% at 1,311, and the Bankex has declined over 2% to 3,658.
 
ITC and Hindustan Unilever have slumped around 4.5% each to Rs 158 and Rs 214, respectively.

Sun Pharma and Hindalco have tumbled 4% each to Rs 981 and Rs 38, respectively.

DLF and Jaiprakash Associates have plunged 3.5% each to Rs 140 and Rs 67, respectively.

Wipro and TCS have slipped nearly 3% each to Rs 207 and Rs 467, respectively. Reliance Communications has declined 2.5% to Rs 134.

ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Sterlite have dropped over 2% each to Rs 263, Rs 589, Rs 920 and Rs 245, respectively.

Reliance Infrastructure, ACC, Ranbaxy, Tata Steel and Tata Power are down around 2% each.

HDFC, however, has advanced over 2% to Rs 1,250.

The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 2,219 stocks traded so far, 1,403 have declined, 750 have advanced and 66 are unchanged.