Sensex up 41 pts; RIL, L&T, BHEL shine

The market was extremely range-bound with an upward bias for better part of the trading session today. After opening with solid gains at 7,810 - up 54 points over its previous close, the Sensex moved up to touch the day's high of 7,826 in early trades.

Lack of fresh buying support failed to lift the sentiment thereafter and the index, as a result, moved in a range between 7,785 and 7,805. However, sharp correction in tech stocks followed with sluggishness in banking stocks saw the index nearly breached the yesterday's close and touched a low of 7,757 in mid-noon trades - down 69 points over the day's high.

Strong gains in Reliance and steep rally in BHEL, L&T, Tisco and Hindalco triggered the market recovery, and the Sensex finally ended the session with a gain of 41 points at 7,797.

Reliance scaled up 2.14% (Rs 15) to Rs 729, while ITC advanced 1.31% (Rs 22) to Rs 1,736. ONGC, however, ended with a per cent loss (Rs 10) at Rs 956.

L&T vaulted 5.67% (Rs 73) to Rs 1,365. While BHEL flared up 5.41% (Rs 55) to Rs 1,077, Tisco jumped 4.28% (Rs 16) to Rs 384. Hindalco moved up 1.62% (Rs 21) to Rs 1,333. HDFC, however, lost a per cent (Rs 8) to Rs 918.

Bajaj added 1.16% (Rs 18) to Rs 1,533, and Hero Honda was up 1.29% (Rs 8) at Rs 631. Tata Motors, however, lost 1.52% (Rs 8) to Rs 502.

Grasim surged 1.60% (Rs 19) to Rs 1,213. While ACC logged 1.30% gains (Rs 6) to Rs 439, Gujarat Ambuja was up a tad at Rs 66.

Infosys dropped 1.91% (Rs 45) to Rs 2,312. While Satyam was down a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 540, TCS also ended lower at Rs 1,295 - down Rs 6.

HDFC Bank gained 1.24% (Rs 8) to Rs 684. SBI and ICICI Bank were down a per cent each at Rs 807 and Rs 513, respectively.