The Sensex has finally ended (provisional) at 16,770, down 228 points.
The NSE Nifty has ended (provisional) at 4,987, down 67 points.
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(Updated at 1507hrs)
Realty and IT stocks dragged the market further to a low of 16,712 in late-noon trades.
The Sensex, after a lacklustre opening, had regained the 17,000 mark and touched a high of 17,005. However, weakness in most sectors dragged the index back into the red.
The Sensex is now near the day's low at 16,742 - down 263 points from the high.
INDEX SHAKERS...
Realty stocks have slumped. Jaiprakash Associates has tumbled 4.7% to Rs 226. Reliance Infrastructure and DLF have shed 4% each to Rs 1,102 and Rs 366, respectively.
Banking stokcs - ICICI Bank and SBI have dropped nearly 2.5% each. Metal stocks are also down. Hindalco has dropped 3% to Rs 130. Tata Steel and Sterlite are down 2% each.
The other losers include Reliance Communications, Hero Honda, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Mahindra and Sun Pharma.
The market breadth is negative. out of 2,781 stocks traded 61% have declined while 36% have advanced.
