The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange tanked 431 points, or 2.5 percent, to slip below the 17,000 level, at 16,687, in opening trade, this morning, on heavy selling by funds and retail investors, amid slumping global markets. After recovering only partially, the Sensex still stood 337 points, or 2 percent in the red, at 16,781, a short while ago. The markets in Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Taiwan were down between 1.5 percent and 3.8 percent, today, while the bourses in the UK, Germany and France were down about 1.5 percent, each. Global markets were spooked, after the US Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 3 per cent, last Friday, on a disappointing jobs report, and concerns over Hungary's fiscal problems.