The Sensex, which opened with a huge negative gap of 42 points at 3,842, bounced into positive zone immediately on buying in old economy stocks.

The index was range-bound throughout the trading session, and touched a high of 3,916 in mid-afternoon trades.

Though heavyweights and PSUs pared gains towards the closing bell, buying in SBI saw the Sensex remain in positive zone, and finish with a gain of 10 points at 3,893. The Nifty also ended 10 points higher at 1,233.

While 16 Sensex stocks advanced, 14 declined today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips were lower at 2.19 crore and Rs 675.39 crore, respectively.

Heavyweights ended in the gainers list. ITC touched the day's high of Rs 781, but pared gains on profit-booking to finish with a gain of Rs 5 at Rs 767. More than one lakh shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 10 crore.

HLL, after trading in a narrow-range in positive zone throughout the trading session, finished 2% higher (Rs 3) at Rs 172. More than nine lakh shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 16 crore. Reliance, however, had a weak outing and lost Rs 2 to Rs 361.

PSUs were divergent. BHEL came off the day's high of Rs 303 and slipped towards the closing hours to finish down a rupee at Rs 290. More than three lakh shares were traded on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 11 crore. HPCL also fell from its highs to finish down a rupee at Rs 353.

MTNL lost ground since morning trades, and shed 2% to close at Rs 119. SBI traded in negative territory till the early afternoon trades, but bounced sharply on last-minute buying to finish with a gain of nearly 3% (Rs 11) at Rs 434. More than 28 lakh shares were traded on BSE today with a turnover of Rs 121 crore.

Tech majors ended at lower levels. Infosys buckled under selling pressure, and dropped 2% (Rs 81) to Rs 3,476. HCL Tech remained weak through the session, and slipped 3% (Rs 5) to Rs 173. Satyam ended marginally lower at Rs 204.

Pharma pivotals largely finished with gains. Glaxo advanced 2% (Rs 9) to Rs 417. While Ranbaxy added Rs 9 to Rs 824, Dr. Reddy's ended with a gain of Rs 4 at Rs 1,059. Cipla, however, was down a rupee at Rs 871.

Cement stocks displayed mixed trends. Gujarat Ambuja and ACC ended up a tad each at Rs 231 and Rs 206, respectively. Grasim traded at higher levels for better part of the trading session and touched a high of Rs 597. It, however, slipped on selling pressure to finish with a loss of Rs 2 at Rs 583. L&T declined 2% (Rs 6) to Rs 274.

Auto majors were weak today. Bajaj traded in a narrow range, and finished down a rupee at Rs 661. Hero Honda, too, closed down a rupee at Rs 271. Telco gained ground towards the closing hours, and added Rs 2 to Rs 247.

Hindalco traded firm on strong buying, and advanced 2% (Rs 19) to Rs 879. BSES and Castrol added 2% each to close at Rs 313 (up Rs 7) and Rs 217 (up Rs 4), respectively. HDFC bounced from its early lows to finish with a gain of 2% (Rs 9) at Rs 454. While Tisco notched up 2% gains (Rs 4) to Rs 237, Zee closed up a tad at Rs 115.

Nestle, however, reeled under selling pressure, and dropped 3% (Rs 18) to Rs 580. ICICI Bank ended marginally lower at Rs 154.

Steel scrips sizzled on the bourses today.

SAIL, which clocked a huge volume of over two crore shares on the BSE, zoomed 19% to Rs 31.45 - a gain of Rs 4.95.

Jindal Iron and Steel added 2% to Rs 127 with nearly nine lakh shares traded on the BSE. Essar Steel jumped nearly 9% to Rs 22 with a volume of nearly 72 lakh shares. Mukand gained 6% to Rs 27 with a volume of over 1.33 lakh shares.

Oil PSUs also ended with sharp gains. ONGC raked in 4% gains (Rs 21) at Rs 546. Over six lakh shares changed hands on BSE today with a turnover of Rs 32 crore. While IOC spurted 3% (Rs 14) to Rs 533, IBP rose 2% (Rs 10) to close at Rs 645. BPCL also closed up a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 285.

Tech stocks were weak today. Wipro and Mastek lacked buying support, and dipped 2% each to close at Rs 944 (down Rs 17) and Rs 206 (down Rs 3), respectively. Digital ended in the losers list with a loss nearly 3% (Rs 12) at Rs 465.

More than 11 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE today with a turnover of Rs 51 crore. i-flex and Mphasis closed down a per cent each at Rs 1,137 (down Rs 7) and Rs 350 (down Rs 2), respectively. Hughes Software, however, bucked the downtrend and closed up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 298.

Bank stocks displayed mixed trends. Kotak Bank and PNB lost 2% each to Rs 201 (down Rs 4) and Rs 161 (down Rs 3), respectively. BoI was down a per cent at Rs 47. BoB, however, gained 2% to Rs 132. Federal Bank and UTI Bank closed up a notch each at Rs 169 and Rs 78, respectively.