Since the budget, the Sensex has lost about six per cent, while a host ofnon-IT pivotals have lost 14 per cent to 26 per cent.

Thanks to a strong opening by Infosys, triggered by the overnight surge inits ADRs on the Nasdaq, the Sensex managed to open strong. The opening forSensex was 5602.94 points. Other software stocks also opened firm.

While software opened strong, cyclicals showed a weak open and came understrong selling pressure. The selling was very strong in pivotals, and theimpact was clearly seen on the Sensex. It dipped to a low of 5362.8 pointsbefore closing at 5378.27 points.

For the Sensex, the major loss came from stocks like Reliance, SBI, HLL,NIIT, Ranbaxy, L&T, ACC and Telco. In fact, counters like Ranbaxy, HPCL,Hindalco, ACC and Telco hit the lower circuit.

As if this was not enough, index-based counters like HLL, SBI, ITC, L&T,NIIT, ICICI and Bajaj Auto showed a fall of more than five per cent. Thiswas enough for the Sensex to show a dip of 150 points. Had Infosys notgained 8 per cent, the fall could have been more steep, and the Sensex wouldhave lost more than 200 points.

Meanwhile, the number of advances also showed a sharp dip. While the numberof advances stood at 660, the number of declines was at 1430. At the sametime, around 192 stocks remained unchanged. The trading volume on the BSEwas Rs 4539 crore for the day.

While the Sensex showed a 150-point drop as a result of huge sellingpressure in cyclicals, pharma and FMCG sectors, the software sector showed amixed trend. While stocks like Infosys, Himachal, Global Tele and SatyamComputers showed handsome gains, Digital Equipment, NIIT, Kale Consultants,and Tata Elxsi recorded a sharp drop in their prices.

Overall, the gainers for the day were: Infosys, HFCL, Satyam, Global Tele,DSQ Software, IDBI, Jain Studio, Aftek Infosys, Philips, Boss Industries,Times Bank, Hinduja Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Shyam Tele, Sterlite,BSES, SSI, Birla Erricsson, Hughes Software, Vakrangee, Kotak MahindraFinance, Jindal Photo, Knoll Pharma, Cosmo Films, Indswift, HindustanMotors, Federal Bank, Oil Country, Bajaj Temp, Hotline Tele, Mysore Cement,Snowcem. The losers for the day were: Digital Equipment, Wipro, Ranbaxy,ITC, Tata Elxsi, ACC, Telco, Dr Reddy, Sun Pharma, IPCL, BPL, HCPL, TataTea, Essel Packaging, Cipla, UPL, GNFC, Jupiter Orga, Hindalco, Ram Info,Dabur, M&M, VSNL, Bombay Dyeing, PCS, Corporation Bank, Bata, KaleConsultants, Crompton Greaves and NIIT.