Sensex plunges into red after opening positive

{image-sensex, big_24072008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Mumbai, Jul 24: Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex plunged into red after breaching the 15K level amid volatility bouts in the early trade on Thursday, July 24.

BSE benchmark index opened with a positive gap of 140 points at 15,082, touched a high of 15,130 but later failed to hold the gains for long and slipped to the negative zone at 14,776, lost 166 points on profit booking interest in select scrips at higher level.The broader-based Nifty index of National Stock Exchange was trading down 16 points at 4,461. IT stock were hit on the worries over strong Rupee against greenback. TCS slumped 6.5 per cent to Rs 804, Infosys plunged 5.3 per cent to Rs 1,519, Satyam and Wipro shed nearly 3 per cent each at Rs 367 and Rs 397, respectively.

Tata Steel shed 2 per cent each to Rs 653, where as NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, SBI, BHEL and Reliance Communications have declined 1.5-2 per cent to Rs 187, Rs 227 and Rs 1,517, Rs 1,744 and Rs 517, respectively.

However, ONGC gained 5.5 per cent to Rs 1,049. DFL and Tata Motors have soared nearly 2 per cent each to Rs 505 and Rs 445, respectively.

Reliance Infrastructure and Mahindra&Mahindra have gained 1.5 per cent each at Rs 1,030 and Rs 562, respectively.

UNI