The carnage in the markets continued as a sharp slide, barring select counters, across-the-board has pushed the index deep into the red. The Sensex, after touching a low of 6,362, has tumbled 80 points to 6,379.The Nifty has slipped below the 2,000 levels, and is down 35 points at 1,997.Heavyweights and tech stocks have contributed to the losses of the index.ITC has scaled down nearly 2% (Rs 23) to Rs 1,271. HLL has inched lower by 1.90% (Rs 3) to Rs 142, while Reliance is trading with a steady gain of Rs 2 at Rs 5321.Infosys is down a per cent (Rs 20) at Rs 2,032. While Wipro has dropped 2.36% (Rs 17) to Rs 689, Satyam has edged lower by 1.60% (Rs 6) to Rs 384. Over 4.96 lakh Satyam shares are traded on the BSE so far.ONGC has declined 1.13% (Rs 9) to Rs 789. While Tata Power has slumped 3.33% (Rs 13) to Rs 374, Tisco, with a volume of over 9.48 lakh, has tumbled 2.35% (Rs 9) to Rs 360.Banking, auto and pharma pivotals also have come under the grip of sustained selling pressure.SBI, on a volume of over 6.33 lakh, is trading with a per cent loss (Rs 6) at Rs 611. While HDFC Bank has slipped 1.30% (Rs 6) to Rs 492, ICICI Bank is trading lower by 1.51% (Rs 5) at Rs 355.Bajaj has extended its losses and has slumped 3.13% (Rs 34) to Rs 1,054. Tata Motors and Maruti are also trading at weaker levels at Rs 501 and Rs 443, respectively. Honda Honda, however,is up Rs 3 at Rs 565.Ranbaxy has lost 1.68% (Rs 20) to Rs 1,189. Cipla has declined 2.41% (Rs 7) to Rs 294, and Dr. Reddy's is down 1.46% (Rs 12) at Rs 810.Bharti (up Rs 3 or 1.33% to Rs 213) has come off from its early highs.Metal stocks have witnessed relentless selling pressure. Lloyd Steel has plummeted 9.72% to Rs 13. While Ispat has crashed 7.27% to Rs 20, Jindal Vijaynagar Steel has slumped 6.42% to Rs 15. Gujarat NRE Coke, Welspun Gujarat and Essar Steel has lost 6% each to Rs 167, Rs 43 and Rs 36, respectively. Bhushan Steel, Nalco and Kirloskar Ferous are also trading with steep losses at Rs 158, Rs 173 and Rs 32, respectively.Banking and pharma stocks have lost ground. Andhra Bank has shed 6.86% (Rs 6) to Rs 81, and Allahabad Bank has declined 6.42% (Rs 5) to Rs 71. While Indian Overseas Bank has crashed 6.25% to Rs 72, Vijaya Bank has lost 5.34% to Rs 65.Morepen Labs has slumped 6.62% to Rs 11. While Torrent Pharma has dipped 5.51% to Rs 536, Sun Pharma has scaled down 4.36% to Rs 501. Lupin and Nicholas Piramal has lost slightly over 4% each to Rs 650 and Rs 278, respectively. Dabur Pharma, Aventis Pharma, Kopran, Cadila Healthcare and Elder Pharma are trading lower in a range of 3-4%.
