Thursday, June 23 2005 17:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Profit-taking at higher levels today (Jun 23, 2005) drove the Sensex down by 25.58 points to close at 7119.76 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), as the overbought market adjusted to a downward correction and arrested a sharp four-session rally that took it to life-time peaks.

Select pivotals, led by software counters, energy shares and key banks succumbed to profit selling even as the general market trend at the BSE sensitive index displayed a mixed bag with a slight downward bias.

The recent bull rampage came to a grinding halt, as wary operators booked profits at current lucrative levels but sentiments remained positive due to the strong economic fundamentals.

Despite firm global oil prices at nearly $59 a barrel, the outlook is favourable, encouraged by growth in domestic demand and select scrips consistently providing high returns, analysts said.

In the earlier four session steep climb to all-time highs, the benchmark had gained a massive 244.93 points, as the bulls seemed to be unstoppable. The party on Dalal Street took a breather today following a fresh bout of profit taking at higher levels, a broker said.

"The correction was overdue and is healthy for market in the long run," he added.