Sensex ends down 131 pts

Breadth negative as 1,625 stocks are declining while 1,102 are advancing

Sensex has ended (provisional) at 17,372 - down 131 points. Nifty has ended at 5,291 - down 42 points.
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(Updated at 1444hrs)

Markets have plunged in the late noon deals on the back of selling pressure visible across the board. The Sensex has slipped 204 points at 17,300 and the Nifty has moved below the crucial psychological levels of 5,300, down 66 points at 5,268 levels.

The European markets have also opened lower adding to the worries in the local share markets. CAC 40 index is down 10 points at 3,163 levels. DAX has slipped 11 points to 6,659 and the FTSE is down 10 points at 5,735 levels.

Back home, Hindalco is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 3% to Rs 124. BHEL, Tata Power, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro, Jindal Steel, ICICI Bank, DLF, HUL, TCS, Tata Motors, NTPC, ONGC and HDFC are also among the laggards. Index heavyweright Reliance Industries has shed 1.4% to Rs 731 ahead of its Q4FY12 results. On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro and Cipla are among the notable gainers.

Selling pressure is visible across the board. The capital goods, power, realty and banking stocks are amongst the worst hit. The BSE capital goods index is the top sectoral loser down 2% to 9,856 levels. Power, realty, bankex, PSU, oil & g, metal, healthcare, IT, FMCG and auto indices are trading lower by 0.3-1.9% each.

The broader markets are also under the selling pressure. The BSE mid-cap index is down 67 points 6,413 and the small-cap index is down 34 points at 6,898 levels.

The overall breadth has turned negative as 1,625 stocks are declining while 1,102 are advancing.