Sensex down 17pts; breadth negative

The Sensex has slipped into the negative zone and is now down 17 points at 12,336.

HDFC has surged 2.7% to Rs 1,478. Wipro has spurted 1.2% to Rs 535.

TCS, Reliance and Infosys are the other notable gainers.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have dropped 1.7% each to Rs 676 and Rs 949, respectively. HLL has slipped 1.4% to Rs 232.

Bharti Airtel, ITC and Ranbaxy are down 1% each to Rs 468, Rs 184 and Rs 409, respectively.

Hero Honda, Reliance Communications and Larsen & Toubro are the other prominent losers.

The market breadth is negative - out of 2,139 stocks traded so far, 1,079 have declined, 986 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.