Mumbai: Mounting Indo-Pak border tensions weighed heavily on share values at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) during the week and the benchmark tumbled by a whopping 129.89 points to close at 3,125.73, dragged down by distress selling by operators and foreign funds.

The SENSEX dipped to a 29-week low, below the 3,100-mark in intraday deals on May 31 and had lost over 305 points or nearly 10 per cent in the past three consecutive weeks.

The selling was not confined to any particular sector, as both new as well as old economy counters suffered severe setbacks due to all-round unloading.

In a televised address on May 27, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had said that the tension with India was at its height and there was a danger of war breaking out.

Taking into considerations the tough rhetoric by leaders of both the countries, the clouds of war appear to be still hovering making it difficult for operators to take fresh positions in the current uncertain scenario, a dealer said.

The situation was further aggravated by a media report that the prospect of a Indo- Pak war has forced the Pentagon to abandon its search for al-Qaida leaders in Western Pakistan and focus instead on immediate evacuation of 1,100 US troops, he added.

A defiant Pakistan also threatened to use nuclear weapons if attacked by India.

Dealers said that the Foreign Institutional Investors (FII), seemed to be pulling out of the market on fears of war as the tension between India and Pakistan was escalating.

Meanwhile, positive news like the decision of the Union government to offload its stake in the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), prediction of normal monsoon by the India Meteorological Department, privatisation of India's largest car maker Maruti Udoyg Limited (MUL) and promise of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to stop cross-border terrorism within a certain period, partially mitigated losses, but failed to spur the market forward.

After resuming on a firm note at 3,264.19, the BSE-30 share sensitive index dropped to a 29-week low at 3,097.73 before finishing the week at 3,125.73 as against previous weekend's close of 3,255.62, a steep fall of 3.99 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 index also dipped by 51.45 points to 1,596.71 from last weekend's close of 1,648.16.