The decline on Wall Street on Monday saw the Sensex open weak with a loss of 13 points at 3,557.

After touching a high of 3,582, the market turned volatile in early morning deals and the index switched between positive and negative zones.

Though HLL and Infosys held gains through the session, selling in PSU heavyweights like SBI, HPCL and BHEL saw the index dip to an intra-day low of 3,534.

The Sensex finally finished with a loss of 15 points at 3,554. The Nifty ended seven points lower at 1,109.

While 24 Sensex stocks declined, five garnered gains and one was unchanged today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips were higher at 2.25 crore and Rs 622.67 crore, respectively.

PSU frontliners buckled under selling pressure. SBI and BHEL succumbed to heavy losses, and lost 3% each to Rs 394 (down Rs 11) and Rs 263 (down Rs 7), respectively. Over 21,77,000 SBI shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 86 crore. HPCL, too, finished lower by Rs 2 to Rs 327. MTNL, however, closed up a tad at Rs 100.

Techs and heavyweights were divergent today.

Infosys held gains on buying support and advanced 2% (Rs 68) to Rs 3,347. More than 3 lakh shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 110 crore. Satyam and HCL Tech, however, closed down a rupee each at Rs 163 and Rs 154, respectively.

HLL figured in the gainers list since morning trades, and moved up 3% (Rs 4) to Rs 151. Over 10 lakh shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 15 crore. ITC ended flat at Rs 723. Reliance, however, ended weak with a loss of a rupee at Rs 334.

Cement and auto counters displayed negative trends.

ACC at Rs 167 (down Rs 7 or 4%), Gujarat Ambuja at Rs 204 (down Rs 7 or 3%), Grasim at Rs 492 (down Rs 7 or 1%) and L&T at Rs 264 (down Rs 6 or 2%) ended with steep losses on sustained selling pressure.

Bajaj fell from higher levels to finish with a loss of 2% (Rs 11) at Rs 555. While Telco dropped 3% (Rs 7) to Rs 208, Hero Honda shed 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 240.

Pharma pivotals largely finished with losses. Dr. Reddy's at Rs 1,141 (down Rs 12), Glaxo at Rs 362 (down Rs 3) and Ranbaxy at Rs 820 (down Rs 4) ended in negative zones. Cipla, however, bucked the downtrend, and moved up 2% (Rs 14) to Rs 775.

HDFC dropped 3% (Rs 13) to Rs 408. ICICI Bank slipped from higher levels, and dropped 2% (Rs 3) to Rs 150. Tisco, too, declined 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 186. Zee, however, traded firm through the session, and gained 3% (Rs 3) to Rs 112 on buying support. Over 27 lakh Zee shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 31 crore.

Tech scrips largely logged gains. i-flex surged 6% (Rs 65) to Rs 1,236 on buying support. Digital traded in positive zone, and gained 5% (Rs 23) to Rs 460. E-Serve advanced 4% (Rs 21) to Rs 603. Geometric and Visual, too, were up 3% each at Rs 324 (up Rs 8) and Rs 147 (up Rs 4), respectively. Wipro bounced from the day's low of Rs 861, and finished 2% (Rs 17) higher at Rs 901. Wipro's total volume on BSE was 2,19,111 shares with a turnover of Rs 19 crore. Mphasis BFL, however, ended in the losers list at Rs 320 - down Rs 5.

Bank stocks were hammered today. Oriental Bank, BoB and Vijaya Bank dropped 5% each to Rs 165 (down Rs 9), Rs 124 (down Rs 6) and Rs 27, respectively. Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Syndicate Bank were lower by 4% each at Rs 176 (down Rs 8), Rs 27 and Rs 26, respectively on selling pressure. Andhra Bank, however, gained 2% at Rs 35.

UTI Bank, which reported a 45% increase in net profit at Rs 52.18 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 when compared with Rs 35.98 crore in Q1FY03, shed 3% (Rs 2) to Rs 73.

Oil PSUs ended on a sluggish note. IBP dipped 4% (Rs 19) to Rs 505. ONGC and IOC, too, were down a per cent each at Rs 452 (down Rs 6) and Rs 394 (down Rs 3), respectively. BPCL, however, registered 2% gains (Rs 4) to Rs 254. 

Tata Power, after registering a growth of 18.75% in net profit at Rs 99.43 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 when compared with Rs 83.73 crore in Q1FY03, closed in negative zone with a loss of 3% (Rs 5) at Rs 139.

ABB, which posted a 39% increase in net profit at Rs 45.26 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, 2003 as against Rs 32.57 crore in Q2FY02, closed up a tad at Rs 363.

Ashok Leyland, which reported a 52% rise in Q1 net, tanked 9% to Rs 115.