Sensex down 36pts; banks, techies weak

The Sensex has slipped back into the negative zone, and is now down 36 points at 9604.

Reliance has declined nearly 1% at Rs 912. HLL, too, is down 1% at Rs 191.

Pharma stocks continue to hold gains, Dr.Reddy's is up 2.5% at Rs 1,046. Ranbaxy has moved up 1.7% at Rs 376, and Cipla has gained 1.3% at Rs 446.

Tata Power has rallied 1.6% to Rs 454. Bharti Tele is up 1% at Rs 350.

Banking stocks are on slippery ground, ICICI Bank at Rs 589, HDFC Bank at Rs 757 and SBI at Rs 927 are down nearly 1.5% each.

Wipro has slipped 1.7% at Rs 465, ans Satyam is down 1% at Rs 752. Infosys and TCS are also trading in the negative zone.

Guajrat Ambuja and Grasim has shed 1% each at Rs 86 and Rs 1,453, respectively, while ACC is marginally down at Rs 553.