Sensex down 178pts; Bharti drops 5%

The NSE Nifty is down 58 points at 5,134.

Reliance Energy, DLF and Jaiprakash Associates have plunged over 6% each at Rs 1421, Rs 661 and Rs 269, respectively.

Bharti Airtel has tumbled 5% to Rs 849. Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti have shed over 2.5% each at Rs 660 and Rs 764, respectively.

ACC, Reliance Communications, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, BHEL and SBI are down over 2% each.

ITC has gained nearly 2% to Rs 225, and Tata Steel has added 1.5% at Rs 815.

Out of 2,720 stocks traded so far, 1,849 have declined, 801 have advanced and 70 are unchanged.