The Sensex opened firm with a gain of 14 points at 4,647, and moved up to touch a high of 4,667 in early morning deals.

The index was in positive zone till early noon deals on cautious trading, but soon reversed trend on across-the-board weakness. The index slipped below 4,600-levels to touch a low of 4,587.

However, a late bout of buying in select stocks saw the Sensex finish with a marginal gain of two points at 4,635. The Nifty closed up a point at 1,479.

While 18 Sensex stocks advanced, 12 declined today. The volume and value of shares traded totalled 2.89 crore and Rs 1,021.49 crore, respectively.

Reliance edged higher towards the closing hours, and added Rs 5 to Rs 457. The counter clocked a volume of more than 21 lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 97 crore. ITC displayed mixed trends during intra-day trades, but ended up a per cent (Rs 7) at Rs 844.

HLL eased on selling pressure and declined 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 186. Over 6.52 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE for Rs 12 crore.

SBI, on the back of a volume of more than 32 lakh on the BSE for Rs 151 crore, notched up 4% gains (Rs 18) to Rs 474. While BHEL bounced from lows to finish with a gain of Rs 5 at Rs 426, MTNL closed up a rupee at Rs 120. HPCL, however, finished with a loss of Rs 4 at Rs 354.

Hindalco, on relentless buying towards the closing hours, zoomed nearly 6% (Rs 54) to Rs 1,018. More than one lakh shares changed hands on the BSE for Rs 14 crore.

Dr. Reddy's mopped up significant gains in afternoon deals, and rose 3% (Rs 34) to Rs 1,142. While Cipla added 11 to Rs 1,055, Ranbaxy gained Rs 5 to Rs 986. Glaxo ended marginally higher at Rs 469.

HCL Tech rose 2% (Rs 3) to Rs 185. Satyam also ended in the gainers list at Rs 257. Infosys, however, ended on a lacklusrte note with a loss of a per cent (Rs 63) at Rs 4,393. More than three lakh shares were traded on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 142 crore.

Grasim at Rs 681 and ACC at Rs 212 closed up a rupee each. Gujarat Ambuja, however, slipped from higher levels to finish down a rupee at Rs 242. L&T also ended in the red with a loss of Rs 5 at Rs 350.

Bajaj at Rs 845 (down Rs 9) and Hero Honda at Rs 324 (down Rs 2) ended at lower levels on sustained selling pressure. Telco, however, on a late bout of buying ended with a gain of a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 350.

HDFC exhibited weakness right through the session, and dropped 4% (Rs 23) to Rs 526. ICICI Bank lost 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 224.

PSU oil scrips were subdued today. IBP declined 2% (Rs 22) to Rs 839. While BPCL was down a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 363, IOC closed down a tad at Rs 386. ONGC, however, closed marginally higher at Rs 627.

Select PSU stocks ended with gains on decent buying support. Dredging Corporation, BEML and Nalco raked in 6% gains each to close at Rs 458 (up Rs 27), Rs 204 (up Rs 12) and Rs 143 (up Rs 9), respectively. Hind Zinc gained 4% to Rs 75 (up Rs 3).

Tech scrips closed on a weak note ahead of the results season. Hughes slipped on profit-booking after the announcement of Q2 numbers, and dipped 3% (Rs 13) to Rs 379. Digital lost 4% (Rs 22) to Rs 517. Geometric and Mastek declined 3% each to Rs 396 (down Rs 14) and Rs 249 (down Rs 8), respectively. Wipro was down a per cent (Rs 13) at Rs 1,219. Mphasis dipped 2% (Rs 12) to Rs 489.