Sensex down 15pts; Mastek zooms 11%

Fresh buying at the lower levels has helped the Sensex recover most of its lost ground. From a low of 9571, the index has jumped back above the 9600-mark and is now down 15 points at 9633.

Auto stocks are leading the recovery.  Bajaj Auto at Rs 2,090, Hero Honda at Rs 870 and Maruti at Rs 673 are up nearly 2% each. Tata Motors, however, is down over 1% at Rs 650.

Cipla has gained 1.4% at Rs 447. Dr.Reddy's and Ranbaxy are marginally in red.

Gujarat Ambuja has rallied 1.8% to Rs 89.30. While ACC is marginally up at Rs 556, Grasim is down a bit at Rs 1,430.

BHEL is up 1% at Rs 1,447.

ICICI Bank has declined nearly 2% to Rs 603. Hindalco has shed 1% at Rs 148, and ITC, too, is down 1% at Rs 145.

Reliance Energy at Rs 611, Satyam at Rs 756 and Wipro at Rs 476 are down over 1% each.

Advaces are lagging declines - out of total of 2,374 traded, so far, 951 have advanced, 1,381 have declined and the rest are unchanged.

Mastek has zoomed over 11% to Rs 683, following the news that the company will be considering a proposal for a bonus issue on January 12.