The Sensex opened nine points lower at 4,347, and displayed a range-bound (negative zone) trend till early noon deals.

Old economy stocks led a marginal recovery in early afternoon deals, which saw the index bounce from lows to touch a high of 4,361.

Selling, however, gathered pace towards the closing bell, and the Sensex finally finished with a loss of 59 points at 4,297. The Nifty lost 15 poins to 1,357.

Heavyweights, PSUs and tech stocks ended with losses today.

HLL dropped nearly 3% (Rs 5) to Rs 180. Reliance lost 2% (Rs 9) to Rs 419. ITC, after a mixed outing, closed down a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 815.

HPCL, after holding gains for better part of the trading session and touching a high of Rs 367, eased towards the end to close with a loss of Rs 5 at Rs 351.

The oil PSU major logged a volume of more than 15 lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 56 crore. BHEL was down nearly 2% (Rs 6) at Rs 390. SBI lost Rs 6 to Rs 416.

Infosys, after touching a low of 4,430, pared losses towards the closing hours on buying support, but still ended Rs 7 down at Rs 4,515.

More than three lakh shares were traded on the BSE for Rs 172 crore. HCL Tech (down 2% or Rs 3 to Rs 161) and Satyam (down 4% or Rs 9 to Rs 244), too, ended at lower levels on selling pressure.

Grasim, Gujarat Ambuja and ACC dropped 2% each to Rs 619 (down Rs 10), Rs 218 (down Rs 4) and Rs 194 (down Rs 4), respectively. L&T, too, ended in the loser list at Rs 307.

Cipla held gains in a weak market, and moved up 2% (Rs 19) to Rs 999. Dr. Reddy's ended off-highs to finish with a rupee gain at Rs 1,056.

Ranbaxy, however, ended lower at Rs 939 (down Rs 10) after trading in positive zone for better part of the trading session. Glaxo was down a rupee at Rs 451.

Hero Honda fell sharply towards the closing hours, and slumped 4% (Rs 12) to Rs 286. Bajaj was down a per cent (Rs 7) at Rs 756. Telco, too, ended in the losers list at Rs 292 - down Rs 3.

Tech scrips were dumped today. Wipro succumbed to losses on selling pressure, and closed down a per cent (Rs 16) at Rs 1,181.

Digital dipped 2% (Rs 13) to Rs 510. Hughes and Mastek closed down a per cent each at Rs 370 and Rs 232, respectively. i-flex, however, ended with a per cent gain (Rs 8) at Rs 744. Mphasis closed up a tad at Rs 440.

Oil PSUs finished on a mixed note. BPCL shot up 4% (Rs 14) to Rs 348.

More than 10 lakh shares were traded on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 35 crore. ONGC slipped from a high of Rs 594, but still ended with a gain of a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 576.

IBP, however, lost 2% (Rs 19) to Rs 849. IOC was down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 366.

MRPL rose 5% (Rs 2) to Rs 37 after the ONGC decision to buy HPCL's 17% stake in the company for Rs 37.75 per share.