Sensex drops 423pts, ITC down 4%

The Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 425 points at 14,675, and dropped 530 points to a low of 14,570 in opening deals.

The index is now down 423 points at 14,677.

ITC has plunged over 4% to Rs 157.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are down nearly 4% each at Rs 855 and Rs 1,112, respectively. SBI is down 3.6% at Rs 1,592.

Reliance has slipped nearly 3% (Rs 52) to Rs 1,790.

Tech, auto and telecom scrips are also trading with steep losses.