Meanwhile, The trading session on the eve of the budget on thelocal and GDR bourses registered lacklustre trades with institutional participation restricted to select counters. Reflecting the nervousness among market participants the 30-share Sensex closed at 3,233.86 points registering a net loss of 47.43 points.

The S&P CNX index also drifted lower to close at 941.20 points registering a net decline of 13.10 points. It may be recalled that the pre-budget session of 1998 had seen the index register a high of 3,823.2 points in anticipation that the BJP government's first budget would provide enough sops for the industry and markets. However mirroring the post-budget disappointment the index has since then been sliding downwards. After trading at a high of 3,500 immediately after the budget, the index has fallen below the crucial barrier of 3,280 points. In April 1998 the index had rallied above 4,200 points.

The Skindia GDR index also declined by over one per cent, with GDRs of ITC, IPCL, Gujarat Ambuja and MTNL registering losses of over 20 cents on an average.According to brokers the fall in the local indices was attributed to the attempts made by operators to close their positions on the BSE as today was the last day of the trading account period.

"Considering the huge long positions in the market both official and unofficial in the midst of inadequate supply of badla finance, brokers at large preferred to close their positions on the BSE," said a veteran BSE broker.

Interestingly, the differences in the trading schedules on BSE and NSE was also attributed as one of the main reasons for the sell off. It may be recalled that the BSE was open for trading between 9.30 am to 2 pm, while on the NSE the trading session was scheduled between 10 am to 3.30 pm. The outcome of this difference was the large disparity between the closing prices of select pivotals on both the exchanges. While stocks like Telco, Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computers, Pentafour Software, ITC, SBI closed higher on the BSE, select stocks like Zee Telefilms and Tisco closed higher on the NSE.According to market sources, Zee Telefilms has been witnessing huge bouts of institutional purchases by leading FIIs like Alliance Fund and Jardine Fleming. The stock today rose by over 5.3 per cent to close at Rs 671. Huge FII deals were reported on the negotiated segment of the BSE on Friday. SocGen Crosby reported a deal of 12,000 shares at the counter of Bhel, 13,000 demat shares at the counter of HDFC and 3,000 demat shares at the counter of HLL.