Although stocks tumbled on Wall Street yesterday, the Sensex opened firm with a gain of 16 points at 3,702.

Gains were soon replaced by losses on sustained selling pressure in old economy stocks, particularly Hero Honda, and the index dipped to an intra-day low of 3,663.

The Sensex, however, survived the early scare and bounced from its lows and remained in positive zone therafter on strong support in PSUs, heavyweights and tech stocks. After touching a high of 3,729, the Sensex finally finished with a gain of 35 points at 3,722. The Nifty advanced nine points to 1,169.

While 25 Sensex stocks advanced, five declined today. The traded volume and value of the index scrips were lower at 1.84 crore and Rs 565.63 crore, respectively.

Heavweights largely finished with gains today. ITC, on renewed buying support, advanced 2% (Rs 17) to Rs 753. Reliance edged higher towards the closing stages to finish with a gain of 2% (Rs 7) at Rs 345. HLL, however, was weak right through, and closed with a loss of 2% (Rs 3) at Rs 163.

PSU frontliners traded firm on strong buying support. BHEL gained 3% (Rs 8) to Rs 291. SBI continued its bullish trend, and clocked 2% gains (Rs 8) to Rs 418. HPCL finished with a marginal gain of Rs 2 at Rs 354. MTNL, however, was down a rupee at Rs 112.

Techs finished at higher levels, thanks to good numbers by Intel yesterday and Hughes upping its FY04 outlook today. HCL Tech was up 2% (Rs 3) at Rs 161. Infosys was up a per cent (Rs 36) at Rs 3,440. Satyam, too, was up a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 186.

Cement pivotals rallied sharply on strong buying support. Grasim advanced 3% (Rs 14) to Rs 514. While ACC rose 3% (Rs 5) to Rs 182, Gujarat Ambuja gained 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 206. L&T closed up a tad at Rs 272.

Auto and pharma stocks bounced into positive zones after commencing on a weak note. Telco witnessed strong buying support, and logged 3% gains (Rs 7) to Rs 221. Bajaj drifted into positive zone in afternoon trades and finished with a gain of 2% (Rs 11) at Rs 563. Hero Honda, however, had a torrid time on the BSE and dropped 8% (Rs 22) to Rs 241.

Glaxo gained considerably towards the closing hours, and jumped 4% (Rs 14) to Rs 375. While Ranbaxy added Rs 3 to Rs 829, Cipla closed up a rupee at Rs 824. Dr. Reddy's, however, traded in negative zone throughout the session, and was down a per cent (Rs 17) at Rs 1,169.

Tisco jumped 4% (Rs 8) to Rs 199. ICICI Bank and Zee ended firm with gains of 2% each at Rs 163 and Rs 116, respectively.

Tech stocks remained firm, and finished in positive zones. i-flex spurted 8% (Rs 86) to Rs 1,218. While Wipro gained 3% (Rs 25) to Rs 973, Digital rose 2% (Rs 11) to Rs 478. Mastek closed up a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 212 after shedding around 35% on bleak guidance yesterday. Geometric, however, was down a per cent (Rs 5) at Rs 368.

Hughes Software, which reported a 245% increase in net profit at Rs 15.20 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003, advanced 7% (Rs 17) to Rs 276 on strong buying. The company said the growth in net profit for the second quarter is expected to be between 90-100%.

Bank stocks ended in the gainers list. Corporation Bank surged 10% (Rs 18) to Rs 192. IDBI Bank rose 6% (Rs 2) to Rs 32. Kotak Bank, Andhra Bank and Indian Overseas Bank moved up 5% each to Rs 182 (up Rs 8), Rs 36 (up Rs 2) and Rs 26, respectively. PNB moved up 4% (Rs 6) to Rs 182.

Federal Bank, after posting a healthy 115% increase in net profit at Rs 37.43 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 as against Rs 17.42 crore in Q1FY03, gained 6% (up Rs 9) to Rs 160.

PSUs ended with sharp losses today. BPCL dipped 5% (Rs 16) to Rs 279. Nalco lost 5% (Rs 5) to Rs 108 after Prime minister ruled out divestment for the time being. While RCF shed 3% to Rs 37, Dredging Corportion declined 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 355. ONGC, however, gained 2% (Rs 11) to Rs 481. IOC closed up a tad at Rs 409 on buying support.

Hind Zinc was locked at its all-time high of Rs 42 - a gain of Rs 7 (20%).