Sensex down 55pts; ONGC, HDFC lead fall

The Sensex opened marginally lower (nine points) at 9835, and it could barely inch higher to touch a high of 9838. Selling pressure forced the index slip to a low of 9761. The index is now down 55 points at 9789.

HDFC and ONGC have dropped 2.5% each to Rs 1,327 and Rs 1,157, respectively.

Bharti Tele and Larsen & Toubro are down nearly 2% each at Rs 357 and Rs 2,190, respectively.

BHEL, HDFC Bank, HLL, ITC, ICICI Bank, Infosys and TCS have also declined 1% each.

While Tata Power has surged 3% to Rs 489, Tata Motors has gained 2.6% at Rs 723.

Maruti at Rs 738, NTPC at Rs 117 and SBI at Rs 874 are the other significant gainers.