Sensex down 64pts; ONGC drops 3%

After opening with a positive gap of 33 points at 20,009, the index soon slipped to a low of 19,800 - down 209 points from the day's open.

The index is now down 64 points at 19,912.

ONGC has shed 3% at Rs 1,325. ICICI Bank, ITC and SBI have plunged over 2% each to Rs 1,298, Rs 171 and Rs 2,249, respectively.

HDFC has slipped 1.7% to Rs 2,608. Grasim, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance and Reliance Energy are down over 1% each at Rs 3,700, Rs 1,736, Rs 745, Rs 2,682 and Rs 1,827, respectively.

Bharti Airtel has surged 2.8% to Rs 920.