Sensex down 74pts; breadth -ve

The Sensex is now down 74 points at 18,018.

The NSE Nifty is down 30 points at 5,250.

Bajaj Auto has tumbled 3.7% to Rs 2,290. Mahindra & Mahindra has slipped 2.2% to Rs 686. Maruti and Tata Motros have shed 1.8% each at Rs 842 and Rs 704, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever and ITC have drpped around 1.5% each at Rs 204 and Rs 198, respectively.

Reliance, ICICI Bank and Reliance Communications have declined 1.3% each to Rs 2,540, Rs 1,205 and Rs 635, respectively.

Grasim, Reliance Energy and Satyam are down 1% each at Rs 2,970, Rs 2,086 and Rs 393, respectively.

Tata Steel has surged 2.5% to Rs 734. HDFC and Wipro have advanced 1.3% each to Rs 2,889 and Rs 418, respectively.

Ambuja Cements and SBI have rallied over 1% each to Rs 119 and Rs 2,250, respectively.

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and BHEL are up 1% each at Rs 859, Rs 1,547 and Rs 2,072, respectively.

The market breadth is negative - out of 2,532 stocks traded so far, 1,464 have declined, 1,020 have advanced and 48 are unchanged.