Sensex down 590pts; Hind Unilever gains 3%

The Sensex is now down 590 points at 16,989.

The NSE Nifty is down 177 points at 5,046.

ICICI Bank, BHEL and HDFC have slumped over 6% each to Rs 1,024, Rs 2,143 and Rs 2,632, respectively.

DLF has tumbled 5.8% to Rs 735. SBI has plunged over 5% to Rs 2,002.

NTPC and Bharti Airtel have dropped 4.5% each to Rs 193 and Rs 788, respectively.

Reliance and ITC have slipped over 4% each to Rs 2,355 and Rs 194, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro and Infosys have shed 3.7% each at Rs 3,390 and Rs 1,490, respectively.

HDFC Bank and Wipro are down around 3.5% each at Rs 1,401 and Rs 419, respectively.

Maruti has soared 4% to Rs 902. Ranbaxy has gained 3.4% at Rs 461, and Cipla has added 3% to Rs 213.

Hindustan Unilever has rallied 3.3% to Rs 235. Mahindra & Mahindra is up 1% at Rs 700.