Sensex slips below 16000; SBI crashes post Moody's report

Indian equity benchmarks broke the psychological levels of Sensex (16000) and Nifty (4800) post 2.5% fall in European markets in the opening trade. A 4% fall in SBI scrip following a standalone rating to D+ from C- by Moody's added pressure on the market. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 173 points to 15,978.61 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 50.55 points to 4,798.95.
Heavyweight Reliance Industries was playing a key role in today's volatility; the stock slipped 1.5% again after showing green tick.
Infosys, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were down 1.6-2.4%. Among others, Tata Motors, JSPL and M&M plunged 3-5%.
However, BHEL and L&T too slipped from day's high - both gained more than 1%. Maruti Suzuki, Grasim and Ranbaxy climbed 1-2%.
Market breadth was mixed; about 1202 shares advanced as against 1293 shares declined on BSE.