The Sensex opened with a gain of eight points at 5,831, but eased in early deals as correction in select old and new economy stocks dragged it to a low of 5,793.

After reverting back into the green from its early lows, the markets moved with steady gains, largely displaying range-bound trend for most part of the trading session.

Buying gained momentum in mid-noon deals as gains led by select heavyweights, cement, auto, pharma and other old economy counters, lifted the index to an intra-day high of 5,871.

The Sensex, however, pared gains on weakness in PSUs, tech and other select old economy stocks, and ended with a steady gain of 19 points at 5,842. The Nifty added seven points to close at 1,860.

While 20 Sensex stocks advanced, 10 declined today. Advancing shares accounted for a volume of 2.26 crore amounting to Rs 1,070.26 crore, and declining shares registered a volume of 1.68 crore for Rs 760.21 crore.

ITC had a decent outing today, and advanced 2.65% (Rs 30) to close at Rs 1,171. Reliance attracted buying in its counter, and end 2.23% higher (Rs 13) at Rs 580. HLL, however, reeled under relentless selling pressure to end with a huge loss of 5.32% (Rs 9) at Rs 165.

Bajaj rose 3.38% (Rs 31) to Rs 960, coming off from the day's high of Rs 980. While Tata Motors jumped 2.55% (Rs 13) to Rs 537, Hero Honda was up 1.48% (Rs 8) at Rs 525.

Cipla came off from a high of Rs 1,265 to close with a gain of 3.34% (Rs 40) at Rs 1,246. Dr. Reddy's, after touching in intra-day high of Rs 1,045 in early deals, slipped into the red to touch a low of Rs 999, but bounced back to end with a modest gain of Rs 9 at Rs 1,024. Ranbaxy added 1.58% (Rs 15) to Rs 975.

Hindalco at Rs 1,333 (up Rs 61 or 4.78%), Reliance Energy at Rs 800 (up Rs 25 or 3.26%) and HDFC Bank at Rs 390 (up Rs 11 or 2.85%) ended on a buoyant note. Tata Power (up Rs 7 or 1.91% to Rs 370) moved up sharply on sustained buying support. Zee gained 2.85% (Rs 4) to Rs 137.

Grasim slipped from a high of Rs 1,181 to Rs 1,136. The counter, however, ended with a gain of 1.23% (Rs 14) at Rs 1,151. While ACC added 2.22% (Rs 6) to Rs 270, Gujarat Ambuja closed up a rupee at Rs 315. L&T closed up a notch at Rs 588.

BHEL slipped from higher levels to end with a loss of 1.26% (Rs 8) at Rs 591. While HPCL was down Rs 2 at Rs 471, SBI closed down a rupee at Rs 600. MTNL, however, closed marginally higher at Rs 142.

Infosys incurred weakness through the session, and dropped 2.54% (Rs 135) to close at Rs 5,187. Satyam slumped 3% (Rs 9) to Rs 310. Wipro, however, erased its losses towards the fag-end, and closed up a per cent (Rs 14) at Rs 1,513.

Bharti Tele remained weak through the session, and slumped 5% (Rs 8) to close at Rs 155. While ONGC dipped 1.16% (Rs 9) to Rs 752, ICICI Bank lost 1.97% (Rs 6) to Rs 276.