Sensex down 240pts; breadth fairly negative

The Sensex dropped to a low of 9553 - down 306 points from the day's high of 9859. The index is now down 240 at 9570.

The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 1,896 stocks traded so far, 1,319 have declined, 539 have advanced and 38 are unchanged.

SBI is the sole gainer among the Sensex stocks.