Sensex down 277pts; breadth very -ve

The Sensex is now down 277 points at 16,401.

The NSE Nifty is down 78 points at 4,875.

ACC has slumped 5.5% to Rs 743. ICICI Bank has plunged 4.4% to Rs 980.

DLF and Larsen & Toubro have tumbled nearly 4% each to Rs 686 and Rs 3,216, respectively.

Reliance Communications has dropped 3.5% to Rs 522. Reliance Energy, Cipla, Infosys and HDFC Bank have slipped around 2.5% each to Rs 2,244, Rs 206, Rs 1,437 and Rs 1,356, respectively.

SBI has declined nearly 2% to Rs 1,887. Bharti Airtel, BHEL and Grasim are the other major losers.

Maruti has moved up 1.8% to Rs 890. HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ambuja Cements have gained around 1.5% each at Rs 2,610, Rs 694 and Rs 121, respectively.

Tata Motors, TCS and Hindustan Unilever are up around 1% each at Rs 702, Rs 854 and Rs 234, respectively.

Out of 2,549 stocks traded so far, 2,200 have declined, 318 have advanced and 31 are unchanged.