The Sensex, which opened with a small positive gap of three points at 4,744, was subdued till early noon deals. The index touched a high of 4,756 before selling commenced towards late noon.

The selloff gained momentum towards the closing bell, and the index dropped to a low of 4,635. The Sensex bounced a notch from lows, but still finished with a huge loss of 93 points at 4,648. The Nifty dropped 1.58% (24 points) to 1,470.

While 23 Sensex scrips declined, six managed some gains and one was unchanged today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips totalled 3.11 crore and Rs 1,173.15 crore, respectively.

Reliance lost nearly 3% (Rs 13) to Rs 457. The counter logged a volume of over 28 lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 131 crore. ITC fell sharply towards the closing bell, and lost nearly 4% (Rs 32) to Rs 844. HLL was down nearly 2% (Rs 3) at Rs 182.

HPCL traded with steady gains, and closed up a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 321. BHEL, after trading with gains for better part of the trading session, declined 2% (Rs 8) to Rs 424. While MTNL lost 3% to Rs 113, SBI closed down a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 485. More than 25 lakh SBI shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 127 crore.

Dr. Reddy's at Rs 1,107 (down 4% or Rs 42), Ranbaxy at Rs 948 (down 4% or Rs 41) and Cipla at Rs 1,138 (down 2% or Rs 21) ended with steep losses on sustained selling pressure. Glaxo, however, bucked the downtrend, and closed up a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 458.

L&T (down Rs 6 to Rs 396) and ACC (down Rs 2 to Rs 197) displayed negative trends. Gujarat Ambuja, however, ended in the gainers list at Rs 227 - up Rs 3.

Grasim dropped 4% (Rs 30) to Rs 699. The cement major reported a 58% increase in net profit at Rs 202.98 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2003 as against Rs 128.67 crore in Q2FY03.

Infosys remained subdued till mid-noon deals, but slumped 2% (Rs 101) towards the end to close at Rs 4,410. The tech major clocked a volume of moe than one lakh on the BSE with a value of Rs 86 crore. HCL Tech was down a rupee at Rs 197.

Satyam, which reported a 25% increase in net profit at Rs 147.59 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2003 as against Rs 118.16 crore in Q2FY03, slipped from higher levels, and ended nearly 3% lower (Rs 7) at Rs 270. The tech major registered a volume of over 74 lakh on the BSE for Rs 207 crore.

Tata Motors ended on a lacklustre note with a loss of 2% (Rs 9) at Rs 360 with volume surging to more than 27 lakh on the BSE with a value of Rs 101 crore. Hero Honda declined 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 310. Bajaj ended marginally higher at Rs 858.

Hindalco came under intense selling pressure, and dropped 6% (Rs 71) to Rs 1,020. The aluminium major reported an 18% increase in net profit at Rs 227.6 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2003 as against Rs 193.4 crore in SQ02.

ICICI Bank traded firm and closed up a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 219. While Zee shed 3% (Rs 4) to Rs 135, Tisco closed down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 337.

Wipro and Digital shed 3% each to Rs 1,233 (down Rs 36) and Rs 496 (down Rs 14), respectively. While Hughes lost 5% (Rs 21) to Rs 393, Geometric declined 4% (Rs 18) to Rs 408. Polaris, however, gained 2% to Rs 138. Mphasis closed up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 514.

IBP and IOC lost 2% each to Rs 756 (down Rs 12) and Rs 333 (down Rs 9), respectively. While BPCL closed down a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 319, ONGC ended marginally lower at Rs 577.

BoB dropped 5% (Rs 9) to Rs 174. While PNB lost 4% (Rs 9) to Rs 182, Kotak Bank was down nearly 2% (Rs 6) at Rs 331. Federal Bank ended down a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 155. J&K Bank, however, gained a per cent (Rs 3) to Rs 267. BoI closed up a tad at Rs 65.

Bharti Televentures, which announced its Q2 numbers today, soared 6% (Rs 5) to Rs 75.

Arvind Mills, which reported a 16.5% decline in Q2 bottomline, dropped 7% (Rs 3) to Rs 46.