Sensex down 166pts; ONGC, L&T drop 3%

The Sensex is now down 166 points at 18,893.

Hindustan Unilever has plunged 3.5% to Rs 212.

ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys have tumbled over 3% each to Rs 1,152, Rs 808 and Rs 1,871, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro has shed 2.5% at Rs 3,330. SBI, Bajaj Auto and Hindalco have slipped around 2% each to Rs 1,915, Rs 2,528 and Rs 185, respectively.

ITC has dropped 1.8% to Rs 184. HDFC, Grasim and Maruti have slipped around 1.5% each to Rs 2,515, Rs 3,755 and Rs 1,144, respectively.

Tata Steel, BHEL, Cipla and Bharti Airtel are down over 1% each to Rs 900, Rs 2,383, Rs 185 and Rs 1,115, respectively.

ICICI Bank has rallied 3% to Rs 1,130, and Reliance Energy has surged 2.7% to Rs 1,897.

Satyam has moved up over 2% to Rs 453, and Reliance Communications has added 1.4% to Rs 763.

Out of 2,728 stocks traded so far, 1,542 have declined, 1,120 have advanced and 66 are unchanged.