Sensex down by 7 points

Brokers said earlier operators covered their short positions leading to a rally that lifted the Sensex high. However, it fell back after mid-session due to end-account considerations and profit-booking by domestic financial institutions who were reportedly sellers in most of the specified scrips.

FIIs were net buyers in some key scrips like BHEL, Telco, Hindustan Lever, Indo-Gulf Corporation and Infosys Technologies besides some others. Speculators were not willing to hold longpositions due to continuous tension in the border region where exchange of heavy fire and shelling was reported during the day.

Of the 149 specified scrips, 92 showed declines while 54 registered gains with three unchanged. Pentafour Software remained the most active scrip with a turnover of Rs 171.32 crore of the total volume of business of Rs 1680.34 crore. The market leader, Pentafour dropped by Rs 20.90 to Rs 1085.10, Reliance by Rs 3.45 to Rs 177.15, Ranbaxy by Rs 15 to Rs 653.50, SBI by Rs Rs 6.50 to Rs 238.50, Hindustan Lever by Rs 7.75 to Rs 2290.75 and Tisco by Rs 3.50 to Rs 139.50. However, Satyam Computer gained Rs 15 at Rs 1227, BHEL Rs 18.30 at Rs 253.60 and Telco Rs 1.40 at Rs 209.50 on short-covering.