Sensex down 559pts; breadth extremely -ve

The Sensex is now down 559 points at 15,983.

The NSE Nifty is down 158 points at 4,763.

Reliance Energy has tumbled over 8% to Rs 1,339. Bajaj Auto, Hindalco and ICICI Bank have slumped 6.5% each to Rs 1,989, Rs 195 and Rs 900, respectively.

HDFC Bank and Ranbaxy have shed around 4.5% each at Rs 1,275 and Rs 434, respectively.

Maruti, Satyam and NTPC have slipped 4% each to Rs 902, Rs 417 and Rs 187, respectively.

HDFC, SBI and DLF have also slipped 4% each to Rs 2,646, Rs 1,782 and Rs 655, respectively.

Reliance Communications and Infosys have dropped 3.5% each to Rs 509 and Rs 1,425, respectively.

Wipro, BHEL, Ambuja Cements, Tata Steel and Tata Motors are down 3% each.

The market breadth is extremely negative - out of 2,340 stocks traded so far, 2,135 have declined, 172 have advanced and 33 are unchanged.