Slide continues... Sensex down 456pts

The Sensex continues to drift lower on account of the Reserve Bank of India's decision to hike the Cash Reserve Ratio and Repo Rate last Friday after market hours.

The index is now down 456 points at 12,616.

Tata Motors has tumbled 7.5% to Rs 672. Bajaj Auto and Maruti have plunged 6% each to Rs 2,277 and Rs 770, respectively. Hero Honda has dropped over 5% to Rs 650.

SBI has slumped 5.7% to Rs 936. Larsen & Toubro has shed nearly 5% to Rs 1,540.

ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and BHEL have slipped around 4.5% each to Rs 837, Rs 814, Rs 909 and Rs 2,165, respectively.

Ranbaxy has gained 1% at Rs 356.

Out of 2,322 stocks traded so far, 1,536 have declined, 725 have advanced and 61 are unchanged.