Uncertainty over the poll outcome, rise in international oil price and reports of FIIs pulling out of the Asian markets saw the index crash 168 points during the intra-day trades.

Earlier, the Sensex, after opening with a huge negative gap of 40 points at 5,629, witnessed selling pressure throughout the trading session today.

The markets, however, tumbled sharply in mid-noon trades, as unabated selling pressure across-the-board saw the index plunged deep into the red to touch an intra-day low of 5,501.

The Sensex, finally, on selective buying and paring of losses in select counters, ended 2% down (113 pts) at 5,556. The Nifty also ended weak with a loss of 35 points at 1,769.

Reliance lost 2.47% (Rs 13) to Rs 519. While ITC shed 2.74% (Rs 28) to Rs 1,002, HLL was down 1.66% (Rs 2) at Rs 142.

Infosys ended weak with a loss of 1.85% (Rs 96) at Rs 5,126. Satyam (down Rs 16 or 4.91% to Rs 305) edged lower due to sustained selling pressure. Wipro ended off-lows at Rs 1,536 - down Rs 13.

SBI ended 2.42% lower (Rs 16) at Rs 629. HPCL (down Rs 8 or 1.73%) and MTNL (down a rupee to Rs 150) ended on a subdued note. BHEL, on renewed buying support, bounced from a low of Rs 567 to end 2.38% higher (Rs 14) at Rs 596. Over 1.28 lakh shares were traded on BSE today.

Grasim slumped 3.34% (Rs 40) to Rs 1,162. While L&T plunged 4.23% (Rs 25) to Rs 558, ACC lost 3.32% (Rs 9) to Rs 275. Gujarat Ambuja was down 2.25% (Rs 8) at Rs 332.

Tata Motors dipped 3.90% (Rs 19) to Rs 458. Hero Honda (down Rs 8 or 1.57%) also ended weak. Bajaj, however, bounced from its lows to end with a gain of 1.52% (Rs 14) at Rs 950.

Hindalco came under grip of relentless selling pressure, and dropped 6.32% (Rs 69) to Rs 1,030. Bharti slumped 5.38% (Rs 9) to Rs 158. While Tisco lost 3.93% (Rs 14) to Rs 332, Tata Power was down 3.70% (Rs 14) at Rs 373. Zee dropped 3.13% (Rs 4) to Rs 129.

HDFC and HDFC Bank, however, ended at higher levels at Rs 648 (up Rs 4) and Rs 385 (up Rs 9 or 2.40%), respectively. Reliance Energy also bounced from its lows to end 1.47% higher (Rs 11) at Rs 737.

Dr. Reddy's declined 3.38% (Rs 31) to Rs 880. While Cipla lost 1.26% (Rs 17) to Rs 1,313, Ranbaxy closed down a tad at Rs 1,028.