MUMBAI: The Sensex opened on a flat note at 17,702 and moved up to a high of 17,733 in morning deals. Weak Asian cues and profit-taking at higher levels saw the index drop to a low of 17,566 - an intra-day decline of over 165 points. The Sensex finally closed with a loss of 85 points (0.48%) at 17,616. The Nifty was down 19 points at 5,263.

The BSE IT index was down 2%. Breadth was bullish - out of over 2,965 scrips traded, over 1,635 logged gains.

Tata Motors dropped over 3% to Rs 785. Infosys was down over 2% at Rs 2,525. TCS, Wipro, Grasim and Hero Honda also declined over 2% each.

Hindalco was up over 2% at Rs 175. Reliance gained over 1.5% at Rs 1,105. Tata Steel, RCom, Bharti and ACC also closed with gains.

Total market (BSE+NSE) turnover was over Rs 75,400 crore. Aban Offshore was the most active counter on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 168 crore followed by Reliance (Rs 164 crore) and Essar Oil (Rs 136 crore).