Sensex down 853pts; HUL, Infosys drop 7%

The Sensex is now down 853 points at 17,509.

The NSE Nifty is down 289 points at 5,095.

SBI and Reliance Communications have slumped nearly 8% each to Rs 2,218 and Rs 616, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Infosys have plunged 7% each to Rs 185 and Rs 1,416, respectively.

Bharti Airtel and Wipro have tumnbled 6.4% each to Rs 856 and Rs 402, respectively.

HDFC Bank and ONGC have shed 6% each at Rs 1,506 and Rs 955, respectively.

DLF, NTPC, Reliance and TCS have slipped nearly 6% each to Rs 890, Rs 209, Rs 2,459 and Rs 831, respectively.

Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra have declined around 5% each to Rs 676, Rs 679 and Rs 642, respectively.

The market breadth is extremely negative - out of 2,542 stocks traded so far, 2,155 have declined, 355 have advanced and 32 are unchanged.