The Sensex opened two points lower at 6,532. After slipping to an early low of 6,516, the index languished in negative territory thereafter following a subdued trend in most of the counters.While selective buying lifted the market from lower levels in the afternoon trades, the index witnessed steep rally towards the closing hours, which saw it touch an intra-day high of 6,603.The Sensex, after reporting five consecutive losses, ended the trading session with a gain of 55 points at 6,588. The Nifty also ended firm at 2,058 - up 15 points.Reliance logged 1.10% gains (Rs 6) to Rs 540. While ITC added 1.57% (Rs 20) to Rs 1,284, HLL moved up 2% (Rs 3) to Rs 145.SBI attracted considerable buying support and surged 3% (Rs 20) to Rs 681. HDFC Bank was up a rupee at Rs 561, while ICICI Bank ended marginally lower at Rs 375.Infosys ended with a per cent gain (Rs 19) at Rs 2,162. Wipro and Satyam, too, were up a per cent each at Rs 683 and Rs 405, respectively.Bajaj scaled up 2.18% (Rs 22) to Rs 1,050. While Maruti gained 1.65% (Rs 8) to Rs 473, Tata Motors added 1.27% (Rs 6) to Rs 483. Hero Honda, however, ended off-gains at Rs 540 - down Rs 3.L&T soared 4.68% (Rs 48) to Rs 1,067. While Reliance Energy moved up 1.92% (Rs 10) to Rs 558, Tisco was up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 413.Gujarat Ambuja added 1.12% (Rs 4) to Rs 444, and Grasim was up Rs 4 at Rs 1,347. ACC ended with a steady gain of Rs 2 at Rs 364.Ranbaxy lost 1.25% (Rs 13) to Rs 1,013. While Dr. Reddy's ended a tad lower at Rs 723, Cipla clocked a per cent gain (Rs 2) to Rs 268.While HPCL slipped 1.15% (Rs 4) to Rs 348, Hindalco was down a per cent (Rs 10) at Rs 1,358.PSU bank stocks logged strong gains after the government granted greater operational freedom to banks. The Bankex, as a result, was up 1.6% (up 60 pts) at 3,733.Andhra Bank soared 5.73% (Rs 5) to Rs 88, and BoB rose 4% (Rs 8) to Rs 207. While BoI jumped 5.43% (Rs 4) to Rs 86, Canara Bank added 4.12% (Rs 8) to Rs 210. Uco Bank flared up 6.21% to Rs 32, and Vijaya Bank ended 8.78% higher at Rs 64. IOB, Corporation Bank, Union Bank and PNB alsp ended with strong gains.
