Sensex down 165pts; ITC, HUL slip 3%

The Sensex is now down 165 points at 17,927.

The NSE Nifty is down 56 points at 5,225.

Bajaj Auto has plunged 5% to Rs 2,260. Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti have tumbled over 2.5% each to Rs 682 and Rs 835, respectively. Tata Motors has slipped 2% to Rs 702.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and ITC have dropped over 3% each to Rs 201 and Rs 195, respectively.

Reliance has shed 2% at Rs 2,522. ICICI Bank and Reliance Communications have declined 1.7% each to Rs 1,198 and Rs 632, respectively.

Reliance Energy, Satyam and ONGC have dropped around 1.5% each to Rs 2,075, Rs 391 and Rs 1,004, respectively.

Hindalco and Grasim are down 1.3% each at Rs 177 and Rs 2,964, respectively.

Tata Steel has surged over 2% to Rs 732. Bharti Airtel and BHEL are up over 1% each at Rs 860 and Rs 2,077, respectively.

The market breadth is negative - out of 2,579 stocks traded so far, 1,521 have declined, 1,006 have advanced and 52 are unchanged.