The 30-share BSE SEnsitive Index (Sensex) opened with positive gap of 147 points at 17,008. Intra-day profit booking in noon deals saw the market number pare gains and drop to a low of 16,697. The Sensex moved in a range of 388 points between 16,697 (low) and 17,086 (high) before finally settling with a loss of 108 points at 16,753.

The NSE Nifty ended with a loss of 55 points at 4,958. Nifty May 2008 futures were at 4954, a discount of 3.80 points as compared to spot closing.

The overall turnover on the BSE amounted to Rs66.23 billion from Rs60.08 billion on Monday. Turnover in NSE's futures & options segment amounted to Rs381.08 billion from Rs410.01 billion on Monday.

The market breadth was marginally positive — out of 2,784 stocks traded, 1,410 advanced, 1,305 declined and 69 were unchanged. In the 30-member list of Sensex shares, 11 were up while 18 were in the red. ONGC plunged 3 per cent at Rs997, while Wipro and ACC tumbled 2.7 per cent each to Rs494 and Rs683, respectively. TCS, Reliance Inds and Bharti Airtel declined around 2 per cent each to Rs906, Rs2,501 and Rs821, respectively.

Ranbaxy dropped 1.8 per cent to Rs485, and Grasim was down 1.6 per cent to Rs2,219. HDFC, Infosys and DLF were the other major losers. On the brighter side, Hindalco and Jaiprakash Associates gained 2.8 per cent each to Rs180 and Rs253, respectively. Reliance Infra surged 1.8 per cent at Rs1,381. Satyam, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel advanced 1 per cent each to Rs496, Rs889 and Rs851, respectively.

DLF shed 1.25 per cent to Rs614.10. As per reports, the company will file papers for $2 billion real estate investment trust with the Singapore authorities next month. Reliance Communications lost 0.90 per cent to Rs545. The company has formed a joint venture with French-US equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent to offer managed network services to domestic as well as international telecom operators.

Aishwarya Telecom led the value chart with a turnover of Rs7.59 billion followed by Cairn India (Rs2.47 billion), Reliance Petroleum (Rs2.17 billion), IFCI (Rs2.13 billion) and Reliance Inds (Rs1.91 billion).

Aishwarya Telecom also topped the volume chart with trades of around 72.6 million shares followed by IFCI (35 million), Ispat (14.7 million), Reliance Petroleum (11.9 million) and Reliance Natural Resources (11.7 million).

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.16 per cent to 6,956.81 while the BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.07 per cent to 8,397.71. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. Sectoral indices on BSE continued to display mixed trend. The BSE FMCG index (up 0.57 per cent to 2,500.33), BSE PSU index (down 0.32 per cent to 7,713.53), BSE Bankex (up 0.43 per cent at 8,601.84), BSE Auto (down 0.39 per cent at 4,669.95), BSE Health Care index (up 0.02 per cent at 4,178.25), BSE Metal index (up 0.64 per cent to 15,747.88), BSE Realty index (up 0.13 per cent at 7,747.12), BSE Power (down 0.18 per cent to 3,213.24), BSE Capital Goods index (down 0.46 per cent at 13,060.97) and BSE Consumer Durables index (up 1.39 per cent to 4,401.45) outperformed the Sensex. The BSE Oil & Gas index (down 2.56 per cent at 10,907.37), BSE TecK index (down 0.88 per cent to 3,379.07) and BSE IT index (down 0.76 per cent to 4,265.14) underperformed the Sensex.

Metal stocks gained on renewed buying. Hindalco Industries advanced 2.97 per cent to Rs180.20. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. Tata Steel (up 1.21 per cent to Rs853), JSW Steel (up 3.46 per cent to Rs959.90) and National Aluminium Company (up 7.26 per cent to Rs487) advanced.

IT stocks pared gains. Satyam Computer Services gained 1.22 per cent to Rs495.50, off session's high of Rs505.70. TCS slumped 3.16 per cent to Rs898, off sharply from day's high of Rs945. It was the top loser from Sensex pack. Infosys Tech (down 1.83 per cent to Rs1740, off day's high of Rs1813) and Wipro (down 3.08 per cent to Rs492.05, off day's high of Rs510.95) dropped.

Banking sector was a shade better. SBI rose 0.40 per cent to Rs1670 after is signed a memorandum of understanding with Insurance Australia Group for a general insurance venture to tap the fast-growing Indian market.

Oil exploration heavyweights corrected yesterday, as soaring crude oil prices took a pause after recent rally. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation slipped 2.60 per cent to Rs1002. Cairn India tumbled 8.90 per cent to Rs276 on high volumes of 8.64 million shares.

Telecom sector fared bad. Bharti Airtel shed 2.05 per cent to Rs821.10. UAE's Emirates Telecommunications Corp said on Monday, it was evaluating a bid for South African telecom firm MTN. This may compel Bharti Airtel to raise its indicative offer, which media reports said valued MTN at about $37 billion.

Among the other side counters, Rallis India plunged 6.19 per cent to Rs422.25 after it went Rs16 per share ex-dividend from yesterday. MphasiS jumped 8.32 per cent to Rs239 on reports Hewlett-Packard was in talks to buy outsourcing firm Electronic Data Systems, which owns a majority stake in the Indian software firm. If the deal fructifies, it will trigger the mandatory open offer for 20 per cent stake in Mphasis, as per the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) takeover regulation. EDS holds 60.89 per cent stake in MphasiS. Thermax shed 1.13 per cent to Rs459 despite reports the company plans to invest over Rs2 billion in this financial year for expansion purpose. Phillips Carbon Black fell 3.84 per cent to Rs181.35. The company said on Monday, it has signed a joint venture agreement with subsidiaries of Vietnam National Chemical Corp to set up a carbon black facility in Vietnam.

Indiabulls Real Estate surged 3.30 per cent to Rs535 after reporting 362.9 per cent surge in net profit to Rs278.2 million on a 765.20 per cent increase in net sales to Rs288.1 million in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. Bajaj Holdings & Investments slipped 0.90 per cent to Rs676. As per reports Bajaj Auto plans to sign a joint venture with European car maker Renault and Japanese giant Nissan to manufacture a small car in India with a price tag of $2500.