The Sensex opened firm with a gain of 38 points at 5,354. The sentiment remained bullish through the session as gains led by heavyweights, techs and PSU stocks fuelled the rally, thereby pushing the index to an intra-day high of 5,399.
Though select counters in cement and pharma sectors slipped on profit-taking, the Sensex ended on a buoyant note with a gain of 75 points at 5,391. The Nifty scaled up 25 points to close at 1,724.
Reliance attracted considerable buying support, and gained nearly 2% (Rs 8) to Rs 499. HLL, after trading steady till early noon deals, rallied sharply on renewed buying support towards the end, and logged 3% gains (Rs 6) to Rs 193. ITC spurted 3% (Rs 30) to Rs 995.
Infosys at Rs 5,144 (up Rs 113 or 2%), Wipro at Rs 1,668 (up Rs 61 or 4%) and Satyam at Rs 361 (up Rs 18 or 5%) witnessed considerable buying support and ended with steep gains.
SBI rose sharply on relentless buying support, and jumped 2% (Rs 11) to Rs 485. MTNL closed up a tad at Rs 117. HPCL, however, lost a per cent (Rs 4) to Rs 403. BHEL slipped from higher levels to finish down a rupee at Rs 444.
Grasim notched up significant gains on sustained buying support, and moved up 4% (Rs 37) to Rs 953. While L&T clocked a per cent gain (Rs 5) to Rs 442, ACC closed off-highs with a rupee gain at Rs 228. Gujarat Ambuja, which gained around 2% during the intra-day trades, slipped on selling pressure to finish nearly 2% lower (Rs 5) at Rs 299.
Bajaj traded firm on sustained buying support, and advanced 3% (Rs 31) to Rs 1,041. While Tata Motors moved up a per cent (Rs 4) to Rs 423, Hero Honda was up Rs 2 at Rs 397.
Dr. Reddy's and Cipla ended with marginal losses at Rs 1,352 (down Rs 2) and Rs 1,185 (down a rupee), respectively. Ranbaxy, however, ended on a steady note with a per cent gain (Rs 8) at Rs 1,081.