Weakness persists; breadth fairly -ve

The Sensex touched a low of 9,680, and is now down 163 points at 9,766.

Jaiprakash Associates has slumped nearly 11% to Rs 78. Satyam has plunged 8.6% to Rs 148.

Tata Motors and ICICI Bank have plunged over 5% each to Rs 178 and Rs 423, respectively.

Sterlite has shed 4.5% at Rs 268. DLF and Larsen & Toubro have dropped over 4% each to Rs 303 and Rs 782, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra has declined 3.5% to Rs 296. Hindalco has slipped 3.3% to Rs 52.

The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 2,315 stocks traded so far, 1,624 declined, 625 advanced and 66 are unchanged.