The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 18 points at 3,651. The index, however, rolled back into positive zone on buying support in cement, auto and select PSUs, and touched a high of 3,684.

Late morning and afternoon deals saw the index exhibit weakness on strong selling in HLL, Infosys and MTNL, and slipped to an intra-day low of 3,626. The Sensex finally finished with a loss of 21 points at 3,648. The Nifty also ended weak at 1,140 - down 12 points.

While 14 Sensex stocks advanced, 16 declined today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips were steady at 2.20 crore and Rs 584.35 crore, respectively.

PSU frontliners ended with steep losses. MTNL fell sharply on sustained selling pressure towards the fag-end, and lost 6% (Rs 7) to Rs 105. Over 4,80,000 MTNL shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 5 crore. BHEL slipped 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 277, HPCL lost Rs 4 to Rs 343 and SBI dipped Rs 3 to Rs 414.

Lower-than-expected Wipro results saw tech pivotals finish in negative zones. Infosys traded in a narrow-range, and dropped 2% (Rs 67) to Rs 3,387. Satyam and HCL Tech were down a per cent each at Rs 173 and Rs 159, respectively.

Heavyweights were also largely weak today. HLL slumped 3% (Rs 5) to Rs 152, and ITC was down Rs 6 at Rs 744 on sustained selling pressure. More than 10 lakh HLL shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 15 crore. Reliance, however, bucked the downtrend to finish with a gain of Rs 2 at Rs 339.

Auto stocks garnered gains on renewed buying support. Telco witnessed heavy buying in its counter, and surged 4% (Rs 9) to Rs 226. Hero Honda moved up 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 246. Bajaj, after touching a high of Rs 582, slipped on profit-taking to finish with a loss of Rs 3 at Rs 570.

Cement and pharma pivotals displayed mixed trends. Grasim and ACC remained subdued through the session, and were down Rs 6 to Rs 507 and Rs 2 at Rs 174, respectively. L&T, however, gained ground and closed firm at Rs 274 - up Rs 4 or 2%. Gujarat Ambuja added Rs 2 to Rs 208.

Dr. Reddy's (down Rs 19 or 2% to Rs 1,165) and Cipla (down Rs 8 to Rs 803) ended on a subdued note. Glaxo, however, gained ground in late afternoon deals, and added 2% (Rs 6) to Rs 373. Ranbaxy, too, finished with gains of Rs 3 at Rs 834.

Colgate moved up 4% (Rs 6) to Rs 150. Nestle also closed in the gainers list at Rs 552 - up Rs 7.

Hindalco and HDFC closed up a per cent each at Rs 796 (up Rs 6) and Rs 404 (up Rs 4), respectively. Tisco and Zee gained Rs 2 each to Rs 197 and Rs 109, respectively. ICICI Bank, however, ended marginally lower at Rs 158.

Wipro, which dropped around 10% to a low of Rs 838 after reporting Q1 numbers, bounced from lows and finished with a decline of 2% (Rs 22) at Rs 917. Over six lakh shares were traded on the BSE with turnover touching Rs 56 crore.

Tech stocks ended with steep losses. NIIT dropped 11% (Rs 15) to Rs 127. Mphasis and SSI were down 4% each to Rs 335 (down Rs 12) and Rs 100 (down Rs 4), respectively. While Mastek lost 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 201, Digital closed down a per cent at Rs 459. E-Serve and Hughes, however, moved up 4% each to Rs 590 (up Rs 20) and Rs 271 (up Rs 11), respectively. i-flex, too, finished with gains at Rs 1,199 - up Rs 3.

Bank stocks displayed positive trends. Vijaya Bank spurted 7% (Rs 2) to Rs 28 and Indian Overseas Bank rose 6% (Rs 2) to Rs 28 on sustained buying support. Corporation Bank gained 4% (Rs 7) to Rs 188 and UTI Bank added 3% (Rs 2) to Rs 75. Oriental Bank, too, was up 2% (Rs 4) at Rs 178.

Syndicate Bank, which reported a 28% increase in net profit at Rs 101.85 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 when compared with Rs 79.41 crore in Q1FY03, closed up a per cent at Rs 28. 

PSUs ended in the losers list. BPCL slipped 3% (Rs 9) to Rs 259. While ONGC declined 2% (Rs 8) to Rs 469, IOC was down a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 401. BEL and EIL, too, shed 2% each to Rs 345 (down Rs 6) and Rs 294 (down Rs 8), respectively on sustained selling pressure. Hind Zinc, however, continued its rally and flared up 12% (Rs 5) to Rs 46.

Media majors buckled under selling pressure. Adlabs Films dropped 5% (Rs 3) to Rs 53. Sri Adhikari and Saregama lost 2% each to Rs 71 and Rs 55, respectively. Mukta Arts and Padmalaya Telefilms, too, were down a per cent each.