The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 14 points at 4,231, and gained another 6 points to touch the day's high of 4,237 on selective buying in old and new economy stocks. The index slipped thereafter and remained weak through the session on sustained selling pressure in heavyweights, PSUs, pharma and auto counters.

After dipping to a low of 4,142, the Sensex finally ended with a loss of 65 points at 4,152. The Nifty declined 20 points to 1,302.

While 22 Sensex stocks declined, eight advanced on Monday. The traded volume and value of the index scrips totalled 2.47 crore (24.7 million) and Rs 838.49 crore (Rs 8384.9 million), respectively.

HLL, after touching an intra-day high of Rs 183, slumped nearly 4% (Rs 7) to Rs 175. More than 16 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 28 crore (Rs 280 million).

ITC slipped from the higher levels to finish with a loss of 2% (Rs 16) at Rs 780.

Reliance, too, ended in the losers list at Rs 403 - down Rs 2. Nearly 29 lakh shares were traded on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 116 crore (Rs 1,160 million).

HPCL reeled under selling pressure and dipped 3% (Rs 10) to Rs 338. Over 7.80 lakh shares were traded on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 26 crore (Rs 260 million).

SBI lost ground in afternoon trades to finish with a loss of 3% (Rs 11) at Rs 399. The banking major clocked a volume of over 18 lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 73 crore (Rs 730 million).

MTNL added 2% to Rs 111. BHEL traded with steady gains and closed up a rupee at Rs 364.

Dr. Reddy's dropped nearly 5% (Rs 51) to Rs 1,053. Ranbaxy, too, crashed 5% (Rs 54) to Rs 936. Cipla declined 2% (Rs 21) to Rs 950 after trading with modest gains for better part of the trading session. Glaxo, however, ended with a rupee gain at Rs 451.

Tech majors finished on a mixed note. HCL Tech at Rs 161 (down Rs 5 or 3%) and Satyam at Rs 236 (down Rs 5 or 2%) traded in the negative territory through the session.

Infosys rolled back into the positive zone in mid-morning trades, and traded with steady gains to finish at Rs 4,372 - up Rs 33. The tech major registered a volume of more than three lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 159 crore (Rs 1,590 million).

Cement pivotals held gains on sustained buying support. ACC (up Rs 5 or 3% to Rs 189) and Gujarat Ambuja (up Rs 4 or 2% to Rs 210) traded with gains right through the session. L&T, after trading in and out of the positive zone, ended up a rupee at Rs 295. Grasim, however, ended on a lacklustre note with a loss of a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 589.

Auto majors ended at lower levels. Bajaj lost ground since opening trades, and dipped 3% (Rs 21) to Rs 724. Hero Honda and Telco slipped a per cent each to Rs 280 (down Rs 2) and Rs 272 (down Rs 3), respectively.

Hindalco at Rs 849 (down Rs 16 or 2%), HDFC at Rs 479 (down Rs 4) and ICICI Bank at Rs 186 (down Rs 2) ended in negative zones. Zee, however, closed up a rupee at Rs 103.

Tech stocks were weak on Monday. Wipro dipped 3% (Rs 35) to Rs 1,128. The scrip clocked a volume of more than two lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million). While Digital lost 4% (Rs 19) to Rs 483, Hughes ended down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 368. HCL Infosys, however, shot up 5% (Rs 10) to Rs 218. Aztech gained 6% to Rs 29.

Oil PSUs, too, ended with losses. ONGC slipped from higher levels and finished with a loss of 4% (Rs 21) at Rs 523. BPCL shed 2% (Rs 6) to Rs 315. IOC ended marginally lower at Rs 336. IBP, which touched a high of Rs 875, pared gains on selling pressure, but still ended 2% higher (Rs 17) at Rs 845.

Steel stocks also displayed negative trends. Jindal Steel dropped 6% (Rs 45) to Rs 713. While SAIL slumped 5% (Rs 2) to Rs 33, Tisco lost 4% (Rs 10) to Rs 246.

Moser Baer surged 10% (Rs 32) to Rs 359 after the announcement of the 1:1 bonus on Monday.