Mumbai: Undergoing a technical downward correction, following a late bout of profit-selling, the benchmark shed 9.05 points to close at 4425.20 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on September 9, cutting short a three-session rally, despite a strong start that took it past the 4470-level in early deals.

Reluctant to keep long positions at current high levels, operators resorted to profit-sales towards the fag end of the day, resulting in a sharp erosion in share values.

A sharp rise in software major Infosys Tech, however, helped reduce SENSEX losses, boosted by news that the company had bagged a five-year Aus Dollar 75 million ($ 50 million) contract from Australian telecom major Telstra for software development and maintenance, dealers said.

The BSE-30 share sensitive index opened higher at 4458.64 and move erratically in a range between 4473.57 and 4398.09 before concluding at 4425.20 as against yesterday's close of 4434.25, a minor fall of 0.20 per cent.

The broad-based BSE-100 also eased by 7.38 points to end at 2322.31 from previous close of 2329.69.

Barring a few IT shares such as Satyam Computer, HCL Technologies, Digital Global and Hughes Soft that finished with losses, most of the others attracted good buying support.

Index-based shares like HLL, SBI, Telco, Tisco, BHEL, ITC, Bajaj Auto, Glaxo, HCL Techno, HDFC, GACL, Ranbaxy and Satyam Computer closed with marked gains.

"Although the market underwent a downward correction, sentiments remain upbeat for a fresh rally," a dealer said.

PTI