Sensex down 113pts; cement scrips slide

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 34 points at 12,401. The index soon plunged to a low of 12,224 - down 211 points from its previous close.

The index is now down 113 points at 12,322.

Gujarat Ambuja has shed 2.7% to Rs 111. ACC has dropped 2% to Rs 947.

Reliance has plunged 2% to Rs 1,087. HDFC is down over 1% at Rs 1,373.

ITC, TCS and Bharti Tele are the other prominent losers.

Dr.Reddy's, Hero Honda and Hindalco have gained over 1% each at Rs 1,651, Rs 881 and Rs 246, respectively.

The market breadth has turned negative. Out of 2,336 stocks traded so far, 1,206 have declined, 1,071 have declined and the rest are unchanged.

Reliance tops the value chart with a turnover of Rs 117.68 crore followed by Reliance Petro (Rs 64.48 crore), Reliance Communication Ventures (Rs 37.93 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 33.14 crore) and Larsen & Toubro (Rs 32.66 crore).

Reliance Petro leads the volume chart with trades of around 75.28 lakh shares Lloyd Steel (70 lakh), IFCI (59 lakh), Kamdhenu Ispat (46.58 lakh) and G V Films (28.44 lakh).