The Sensex erased its gains in the afternoon trades after displaying positive trends in the morning deals. Heavy selling in Infosys and select heavyweights and PSUs saw the Sensex finally finish with a loss of 24 points at 3,742. The Nifty ended down a point at 1,183.

Heavyweights, PSUs and tech stocks fell sharply on selling pressure, and contributed to the weakness of the Sensex.

Infosys fell sharply on sustained selling pressure to finish with a loss of 6% (Rs 228) at Rs 3,504. Over 5 lakh shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 195 crore. While Satyam lost nearly 2% (Rs 3) to Rs 202, HCL Tech finished lower at Rs 171 - down Rs 2.

SBI and BHEL dropped 2% each to Rs 407 (down Rs 7) and Rs 266 (down Rs 6), respectively. MTNL, too, closed down a tad at Rs 120. HPCL, however, gained 2% (Rs 6) to Rs 329, off its day's high of Rs 337.

ITC ended marginally lower at Rs 730, after touching the day's high of Rs 740. HLL closed down a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 160. Reliance, however, remained firm and finished with gains of Rs 4 at Rs 351.

Pharma, auto and cement counters displayed mixed trends.