Mumbai: The seven-week long weekly gaining streak finally came to an end and the SENSEX ended the week 0.78 per cent lower after climbing by over 20 per cent since May 26 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that saw a mild correction at the weekend.

After touching 3750-level during the trading on July 17, the BSE barometer met with a strong resistance as expected and finished the week at 3647.58 as against last weekend's close of 3676.26, a net fall of 28.68 points.

Led by the leading index heavyweight Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) that got drubbing through the week under review on investors apprehensions about the company's growth potential amidst stiff competition, Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) and IT shares came under intensive selling pressure.

Investors, who were taken by a surprise by Infosys Tech's encouraging results announced in the previous week, were in for a shock as their hopes about better prospects for IT sector were belied when Wipro's results, released during the week, fell short of market expectations.

Generally, the correction is seen as a healthy sign for the market which has gone over positioned due to sustained buying by speculators in the past couple of months, but the sudden slow down by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) seemed to be a cause of worry for investors.

Domestic funds, led by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), too had been heavy sellers in their bid to book profits at the prevailing higher price levels, leaving bulls no choice but to lighten their commitments for the time being.

PTI