Sensex down 306pts; breadth fairly -ve

The Sensex is now down 306 points at 17,429.

The NSE Nifty is down 67 points at 5,125.

Bajaj Auto has plunged 4.5% to Rs 2,300, and Satyam has tumbled 3.5% to Rs 442.

HDFC Bank has plunged over 3% to Rs 1,495. ICICI Bank, Infosys and Mahindra & Mahindra have shed 2.8% each at Rs 1,112, Rs 1,585 and Rs 624, respectively.

HDFC and Reliance have dropped 2.5% each to Rs 2,580 and Rs 2,437, respectively.

TCS and Tata Motors have declined 2.3% each to Rs 897 and Rs 692, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel and SBI are down around 2% each at Rs 215, Rs 850 and Rs 2,137, respectively.

Cipla has soared 4.4% to Rs 197. Hindalco has gained 2% at Rs 193, and Grasim has added 1% to Rs 2,830.

Out of 2,692 stocks traded so far, 1,691 have declined, 929 have advanced and 72 are unchanged.