Sensex down 595pts; Bharti drops 6%

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 350 points at 18,012, and then dropped to a low of 17,524. The index is now down 595  points at 17,766.

All index stocks are in negative zone.

Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank and SBI have tumbled around 7% each to Rs 625, Rs 1,487 and Rs 2,240, respectively.

Bharti Airtel has slumped 6.3% to Rs 857. Bajaj Auto and DLF have plunged around 5.5% each to Rs 2,140 and Rs 895, respectively.

Tata Steel and Reliance Communications have slipped 5% each to Rs 678 and Rs 635, respectively. Hindalco and Grasim have shed 4.5% each at Rs 165 and Rs 2,900, respectively.

Reliance, Larsen & Toubro and BHEL have slipped over 4% each to Rs 2,500, Rs 3,730 and Rs 2,076, respectively.

NTPC, Reliance Energy and ONGC have also dropped around 4% each to Rs 213, Rs 1,950 and Rs 976, respectively.