The Sensex is now down 294 points at 9,875.
Hindalco has slumped 10% to Rs 55. Tata Steel has plunged 8.6% to Rs 224.
HDFC has tumbled 6.6% to Rs 1,779. ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors have shed around 5.5% each at Rs 373, Rs 630 and Rs 216, respectively.
Sterlite, Ranbaxy, Reliance and Reliance Infrastructure have dropped around 5.5% each to Rs 252, Rs 247, Rs 1,256 and Rs 452, respectively.
Satyam and DLF have slipped over 4% each to Rs 295 and Rs 260, respectively.
BHEL has moved up 1.8% to Rs 1,159, and ITC has added 1% to Rs 172.
The market breadth is extremely negative - out of 2,100 stocks traded so far, 1,608 have declined, 432 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.