The markets displayed mixed trends through the session, as the index, which opened flat at 4,999 slipped in early deals, but recovered soon to touch a high of 5,039.

The markets moved in a range-bound (positive territory) mode till mid-noon deals, before a sharp slide in select old and new economy stocks saw the index slip below the 5,000 levels to touch a low of 4,989.

However, buying towards the fag-end in select techs, heavyweights and firm closing in cement stocks, saw the Sensex finally finish with a gain of 32 points at 5,031.

The Nifty, which touched an intra-day high of 1,609, finally ended 9 points higher at 1,601.

While 22 Sensex stocks advanced, eight declined on Tuesday. The volume of shares traded and its traded value totalled 2.90 crore (29 million), and Rs 1,100.41 crore (Rs 11 billion), respectively.

HPCL added 2% (Rs 6) to Rs 342. While BHEL traded off-highs on profit-taking to finish up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 457, SBI was up a rupee at Rs 478 on the back of a volume of over 12.48 lakh (1.25 million) on the BSE. MTNL, however, closed down a rupee at Rs 113.

While ITC added Rs 4 to Rs 866, Reliance closed marginally higher at Rs 482 with a volume of over 20.41 lakh (2.04 million) on the BSE. HLL, however, which opened on a steady note, slipped in mid-morning deals to finish down a notch at Rs 182.

Grasim at Rs 945 (up Rs 33 or 4%), ACC at Rs 242 (up Rs 12 or 5%) and Gujarat Ambuja at Rs 287 (up Rs 8 or 3%) notched up significant gains on strong buying support in the afternoon session.

L&T also ended with gains at Rs 411 - up Rs 4. Over 43.82 lakh (4.38 million) ACC shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 104 crore (Rs 1.04 billion).

Wipro had a bumpy ride, but ended 2% higher (Rs 27) at Rs 1,447. Infosys, on a late bout of buying support, finished with a modest gain of Rs 15 at Rs 4,949. Satyam, however, remained weak through the session, and lost 2% (Rs 8) to Rs 325, but the volumes soared over 51.71 lakh (5.17 million) on the BSE.

Bajaj bounced from its low's in mid-morning deals, and remained firm to finish with a gain of 2% at Rs 922. Hero Honda closed up a tad at Rs 370. Tata Motors, however, was down a per cent (Rs 2) at Rs 369. The auto major logged a volume of over 17.67 lakh (1.77 million) on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 65 crore (Rs 650 million).

Dr. Reddy's advanced nearly 3% (Rs 33) to Rs 1,319. While Cipla added a per cent (Rs 10) to Rs 1,162, Ranbaxy, too, ended with a per cent gain (Rs 7) at Rs 1,014.

ICICI Bank at Rs 249 (up Rs 8 or 3%), Hindalco at Rs 1,235 (up Rs 12 or 1%), ONGC at Rs 665 (up Rs 6 or 1%) and Bharti Tele at Rs 87 (up Rs 3 or 4%) logged gains on decent buying support. The cellular major registered a volume of over 12.53 lakh (1.25 million) on the BSE with a value of Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million).

HDFC and HDFC Bank, however, displayed weakness through the session, and closed down a per cent each at Rs 513 (down Rs 6) and Rs 308 (down Rs 2), respectively.

Tisco and Zee, too, ended down a per cent each at Rs 366 (down Rs 3) and Rs 141 (down Rs 2), respectively. Tisco clocked a volume of over 42.28 lakh (4.23 million) on the BSE with a value of Rs 155 crore (Rs 1.55 billion).

NIIT shored up 8% (Rs 16) to Rs 207. Hughes closed up a notch at Rs 447. Mastek lost 5% (Rs 13) to Rs 237. i-flex and Mphasis were down a per cent each at Rs 684 (down Rs 8) and Rs 550 (down Rs 7), respectively.

Padmalaya Telefilms shot up 4% (Rs 4) to Rs 89. While Mukta Arts gained 3% (Rs 2) to Rs 62, Saregama moved up 2% to Rs 50. Balaji Telefilms, however, slipped 2% to Rs 72.

Sterlite Industries hit the 10% upper circuit breaker to close at Rs 1,414 - up Rs 128.

While Escorts soared 13% (Rs 9) to Rs 75, Indian Rayon surged 12% (Rs 24) to Rs 225 on strong buying support.