Heavy selling towards the fag-end in Zee, heavyweights and PSU counters saw the Sensex drop 53 points to close at 3,669. The Nifty lost 17 points to close at 1,152.

PSU frontliners displayed negative trends. BHEL slumped 3% (Rs 8) to Rs 282 on profit-booking after it had gained 3% yesterday. HPCL traded in negative zone for better part of the trading session, and lost 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 346.

SBI came off from the day's high of Rs 433 to finish down a rupee at Rs 417. More than 37 lakh SBI shares traded on BSE today with a turnover of Rs 158 crore. MTNL, too, closed marginally lower at Rs 112.

Heavyweights ended with steep losses. HLL, which fell around 2% yesterday, continued its downtrend on selling pressure, and finished with a loss of 3% (Rs 6) at Rs 157. Reliance remained subdued and dropped 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 338. ITC, too, was down Rs 2 at Rs 751.

Tech pivotals largely finished with losses. Satyam languished in negative territory through the session, and dipped 6% (Rs 11) to Rs 175. HCL Tech came off from the day's high of Rs 168 to finish down a rupee at Rs 161. More than 6 lakh HCL Tech shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 10 crore.

Infosys touched the day's high of Rs 3,600, but shed gains on profit-booking . It, however, finished with a marginal gain of Rs 14 at Rs 3,454. Over 2,15,000 shares of Infosys changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 75 crore.

Zee was done in by heavy profit-booking, and dropped 8% (Rs 9) to Rs 107. More than 18 lakh Zee shares were traded on BSE today with a turnover of Rs 21 crore.