The Sensex opened 14 points lower at 4,138, and slipped further to touch a low of 4,111 on selling pressure in select old and new economy stocks.

The markets witnessed volatility till mid-afternoon trades, and indices switched between positive and negative zones. However, unabated buying in the last hour of trading in heavyweights, PSUs, auto and cement stocks saw the Sensex spurt to an intra-day high of 4,240.

The Sensex finally ended 80 points higher at 4,232. The Nifty, too, bounced from lows, and advanced 25 points to 1,328.

While 25 Sensex stocks advanced, five declined today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips were higher at 2.52 crore and Rs 884.05 crore, respectively.

Heavyweights and PSU frontliners logged huge gains towards the closing bell today.

HLL, on a late bout of buying, zoomed nearly 4% (Rs 6) to Rs 181. The FMCG major registered a volume of more than six lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 12 crore.

While Reliance notched up 3% gains (Rs 11) to Rs 414, ITC gained nearly 2% (Rs 12) to Rs 792.

SBI gained momentum towards the closing hours, and shot up 4% (Rs 18) to Rs 417. The banking major logged a volume of 27.52 lakh on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 111 crore. HPCL traded with steady gains, and logged 2% gains (Rs 7) to Rs 345.

Over seven lakh shares were traded on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 24 crore. BHEL stepped up gains in mid-afternoon trades, and spurted 5% (Rs 18) to Rs 382. MTNL, too, edged higher towards the closing hours to finish with a gain of 2% at Rs 113.

Auto pivotals raked in good gains on strong buying support. Telco surged 7% (Rs 19) to Rs 291. Hero Honda, too, remained firm and ended with gains of 2% (Rs 7) at Rs 287. Bajaj, after a lacklustre opening, bounced back and added Rs 5 to Rs 733.

Grasim at Rs 603 (up Rs 14 or 2%), Gujarat Ambuja at Rs 218 (up Rs 8 or 4%) and L&T at Rs 296 (up Rs 2) bounced from lows and ended in the gainers list. ACC traded off-highs and closed marginally higher at Rs 190.

Cipla firmed up in late afternoon deals and rose 2% (Rs 19) to Rs 970. Glaxo closed up a tad at Rs 451. Dr. Reddy's recovered from its early lows, but still ended down a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 1,046. Ranbaxy, too, ended at lower levels at Rs 929 - down Rs 7.

Tech majors had a weak outing today. Infosys remained lacklustre through the trading session, and lost a per cent (Rs 57) to Rs 4,315. Over 3.45 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 148 crore. HCL Tech ended off-gains with a loss of 2% (Rs 3) at Rs 158. Satyam rolled back into positive zone towards the close, and moved up 3% (Rs 7) to Rs 243.

Hindalco gained 2% (Rs 15) to Rs 864. The aluminium major announced the acquisition of the Mount Gordon copper mine in Australia today for A$21 million.

Tisco (up 4% or Rs 10 to Rs 256), BSES (up 4% or Rs 14 to Rs 348), ICICI Bank (up 3% or Rs 6 to Rs 193) and Zee (up 4% to Rs 107) rallied sharply on sustained buying support.

Oil PSUs ended with steep gains. IOC advanced 7% (Rs 25) to Rs 361. While ONGC surged 6% (Rs 32) to Rs 555, IBP clocked 3% gains (Rs 27) to Rs 872. BPCL, too, ended with gains of 2% (Rs 8) at Rs 323.

Tech stocks displayed positive trends. Digital notched up 6% gains (Rs 29) to Rs 512. More than nine lakh shares changed hands on the BSE with a turnover of Rs 48 crore. Wipro bounced from a low of Rs 1,105, and closed up a per cent (Rs 16) at Rs 1,144. Mphasis and Mastek gained 2% each to Rs 439 (up Rs 8) and Rs 227 (up Rs 4), respectively. i-flex and Hughes Software, however, ended down a per cent each at Rs 735 (down Rs 8) and Rs 363 (down Rs 5), respectively.

HCL Infosys shot up 20% (Rs 44) to Rs 262. The company reported a 167% increase in Q4FY03 net and 34% rise in FY03 bottomline today.