The Sensex touched a low of 8,230, and is now down 185 points (2.2%) at 8,262. Earlier in the day, the index opened 89 points higher at 8,535 but could not hold gains for long.
The BSE FMCG index has dropped over 4% (81 points) to 1,869.
Ranbaxy has slumped 8.5% to Rs 146.
Hindustan Unilever has tumbled 6% to Rs 226. ITC has shed 4.7% at Rs 166.
Reliance has dropped over 4% to Rs 1,158.
Tata Power, Jaiprakash Associates and Bharti Airtel have slipped around 3% each to Rs 653, Rs 63 and Rs 583, respectively.
Reliance Infrastructure has declined 2.8% to Rs 445, and NTPC is down 2.5% at Rs 175.
Sterlite has surged 2.5% to Rs 252. Sun Pharma and TCS are up 1% each at Rs 988 and Rs 466, respectively.
The market breadth is fairly negative - out of 2,120 stocks traded so far, 1,278 have declined, 747 have advanced and the rest are unchanged.
