Sensex down 74pts; bank, cement stocks weak

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 34 points at 12,401. The index soon plunged to a low of 12,224 - down 211 points from its previous close.

The index is now down 74 points at 12,362.

ICICI Bank has shed 3% to Rs 641. HDFC Bank and HDFC have slipped over 1% each to Rs 860 and Rs 1,374, respectively.

ACC and Gujarat Ambuja have dropped nearly 2% each to Rs 949 and Rs 113, respectively.

Reliance is down 1.6% at Rs 1,091. ONGC is down nearly 1% at Rs 1,446.

Tata Steel has surged 2.6% to Rs 655. Hindalco has moved up 1.8% to Rs 248.

Tata Motors has advanced 2.3% to Rs 977. Hero Honda, Maruti and Bajaj Auto are up 1% each at Rs 880, Rs 946 and Rs 3,175, respectively.

NTPC has surged 1.5% to Rs 131.

Out of 2,487 stocks traded so far, 1,262 have advanced, 1,166 have advanced and 59 are unchanged.