From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 02:32 PM IST

Indian equity markets fell steeply by early Thursday afternoon after opening in the red. There was heavy selling pressure on realty, banking and PSU stocks.

At 1:20 p.m., the 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, was at 14,366.04 points, down 312.19 points or 2.13 percent from its closing figure Wednesday. It had touched a low of 14,357.76 earlier Thursday.

At the same time the broader based S and amp;P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was down by 104.35 points or 2.36 percent at 4,311.40.

The market breadth was negative. On BSE, 778 shares advanced, 1,657 declined and 76 remained unchanged.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)