The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a loss of 98 points at 17,082.
The NSE Nifty was down 24 points at 5,079.
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(Updated at 1410 hrs)
The markets have been recovering steadily in the past one hour. After touching a low of 17,028, the Sensex is now down merely 50 points at 17,129, and the Nifty is lower by 14 points at 5,089.
Tata Steel has declined 2.2% to Rs 560, Reliance Infrastructure has shed 2.1% at Rs 1,071 and Sterlite has slipped 1.9% to Rs 854.
ITC, ACC and HDFC have lost between 1% and 2% each.
Mahindra & Mahindra has rallied 3.3% to Rs 1,077, Maruti has appreciated by 2.6% at Rs 1,600 and Bharti Airtel has added 2.2% to Rs 281.
The market breadth is neutral - Out of 2,718 stocks traded so far, 1,300 have advanced and 1,312 have declined.