After zooming past the 4000-mark yesterday, the Sensex opened firm with a positive gap of 21 points at 4,028.

The mood was upbeat right from the opening session as buying in techs, PSUs and heavyweights lifted the index to an intra-day high of 4,066.

Though select heavyweights slipped towards the fag-end on profit-taking, the Sensex finished with a gain of 50 points at 4,057. The Nifty ended eight points higher at 1,286.

While 20 Sensex stocks advanced, 10 declined today. The traded volume and value totalled 2.13 crore and Rs 673.69 crore, respectively.

Techs and PSU frontliners ended with solid gains today.

Infosys zoomed 5% (Rs 185) to Rs 3,673. Over 2.87 lakh shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 104 crore. HCL Tech gained considerable ground in afternoon trades and surged 4% (Rs 7) to Rs 172. Satyam, too, witnessed heavy buying to finish with a gain of 4% (Rs 9) at Rs 211.

HPCL rallied sharply towards the closing hours and clocked 4% gains (Rs 14) to Rs 373. More than eight lakh shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 31 crore. SBI, on a late bout of buying, soared nearly 3% (Rs 11) to Rs 437.

The banking major registered volumes of more than 19 lakh shares with a turnover of Rs 83 crore. BHEL closed up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 323. MTNL, however, ended on a subdued note with a loss of Rs 2 at Rs 127.

Heavyweights faltered under selling pressure and largely finished with losses. ITC, after trading on a mixed note, finally finished down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 764. Reliance, too, after trading in positive zone for better part of the trading session, finished down a rupee at Rs 368.

HLL, however, remained firm and moved up 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 193. More than 12.84 lakh shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 24 crore.

Auto majors displayed positive trends. Bajaj, after a steady morning session, gained ground on renewed buying support and finished with a gain of 3% (Rs 19) at Rs 714.

Tata Motors gained a per cent (Rs 3) to close at Rs 259. Hero Honda, however, ended off-gains with a loss of Rs 2 at Rs 265.

Grasim firmed up 2% (Rs 12) to Rs 631. ACC closed with a marginal gain of Rs 2 at Rs 217. Gujarat Ambuja, however, fell from higher levels to finish down a tad at Rs 230. L&T, too, closed down a notch at Rs 281.

Ranbaxy slipped from highs, but still finished with a gain of 2% (Rs 15) at Rs 858. Dr. Reddy's and Cipla traded on a steady note and finished up a per cent each at Rs 1,068 (up Rs 10) and Rs 845 (up Rs 5), respectively. Glaxo ended with a modest gain of Rs 3 at Rs 409.

Hindalco ended with a gain of a per cent (Rs 11) at Rs 926. Zee closed marginally higher at Rs 112. Tisco, however, faltered under selling pressure for the second consecutive day, and dropped 3% (Rs 8) to Rs 243. More than 32 lakh shares changed hands on BSE with a turnover of Rs 79 crore. ICICI Bank was down a rupee at Rs 156.

Pentamedia and Silverline were frozen at their 20% upper limits at Rs 11 and Rs 8, respectively.

Tech stocks finished at higher levels. Wipro and i-flex clocked 3% gains each to close at Rs 954 (up Rs 29) and Rs 1,134 (up Rs 36), respectively. Polaris gained 6% (Rs 7) to Rs 115. Digital, Hughes and Mastek moved up 2% each to Rs 461 (up Rs 9), Rs 315 (up Rs 6) and Rs 200 (up Rs 4), respectively. Mphasis closed up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 360.

IBP lost 2% (Rs 11) to Rs 586. IOC and BPCL were up a per cent each at Rs 325 and Rs 293, respectively. ONGC closed up a tad at Rs 543.

SAIL, which had shed 16% yesterday, continued its downtrend and lost 11% (Rs 5) to close at Rs 38. More than 3.58 crore shares were traded on BSE with a turnover of Rs 142 crore.

Kotak Bank moved up 7% (Rs 16) to Rs 227. Oriental Bank shot up 6% (Rs 10) to Rs 181.