Sensex down 275pts; breadth fairly -ve

The Sensex is now down 275 points at 14,863.

Hindalco has plunged 3.5% to Rs 157.

ICICI Bank and BHEL have slumped nearly 3% each to Rs 889 and Rs 1,672, respectively.

Reliance Energy and Reliance Communications have tumbled 2.7% each to Rs 734 and Rs 533, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Grasim and Ambuja Cements have shed around 2.5% each to Rs 2,455, Rs 1,123, Rs 2,890 and Rs 126, respectively.

Wipro, Satyam, ACC, Maruti, Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra are down over 2% each.

Ranbaxy has gained 1.8% at Rs 373 and is the sole gainer among the index stocks.

The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 2,270 stocks traded so far, 1,532 have declined, 685 have advanced and 53 are unchanged.