Mumbai: Led by HLL, share prices turned distinctly weak on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on February 14, pulling the SENSEX down by another 24.10 points to close at 3223.41 due to the sensitive geopolitical situation and sharp hike in oil prices, forcing operators and retail investors to sell heavily.

Possibility of US-led strike on Iraq continued to weigh on the market as operators preferred to stay on the sideline, eyeing tonight's weapons inspectors second report to the UN which was going to be the key factor, dealers said.

Rise in international oil prices, which touched their highest level in last 28 months, also caused concern among the investing fraternity, a dealer said.

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) giant and among the top heavyweight, HLL suffered a steep setback on heavy offerings by local funds.

A sharp to moderate fall in other index-based shares like Grasim, GACL, HCL Techno, HDFC, Hero Honda, Infosys Tech, L&T, MTNL, SBI, Tisco, Telco, ACC and Cipla also contributed to the SENSEX loss.

The BSE-30 share sensitive index opened slightly better at 3250.65 and immediately touched a high of 3254.04. However, it with strong resistance and declined to the day's low of 3218.37 before concluding at 3223.41 as against Wednesday's close of 3247.51, a fall of 0.74 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 dropped by 14.81 points to 1590.58 at close from previous close of 1605.39.

PTI