The Sensex is now down 87 points at 9,115. Earlier in the day, the index opened 40 points higher at 9,242, and soon touched a high of 9,247.
Sterlite has plunged almost 4% to Rs 265.
Mahindra & Mahindra has dropped 3.5% to Rs 273. Maruti has shed nearly 3% to Rs 585, and Tata Motors has slipped 2.5% to Rs 132.
HDFC and Reliance have declined 2% each to Rs 1,413 and Rs 1,282, respectively.
TCS has shed nearly 2% at Rs 490. Bharti Airtel and Larsen & Toubro are down around 1.5% each at Rs 624 and Rs 645, respectively.
Tata Steel has gained 3% at Rs 184.
The market breadth is marginally negative - out of 1,954 stocks traded so far, 1,024 have declined, 842 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.