In the absence of FII purchases, the rally triggered by the buy-back announcement proved to be shortlived. With the initial euphoria having faded the BSE sensex continued to be range bound, between 2,856 and 2,895 points to finally close at 2,895.84, registering a meagre gain of 6.13 points. The BSE's volumes however notched up to touch a high of Rs 1,521.04 crore.

Market sources attributed therise in volumes to the shifting and building of fresh positions from the NSE to BSE, today being the last day of the trading cycle on the NSE. While HLL's results was welcomed by the broking fraternity, institutional purchases saw the stock trade at an intra-day's high of Rs 1,622 and in the final countdown closed at Rs 1,615. According to market sources, LIC and SBI Mutual funds were reported to have bought HLL at the lower levels of Rs 1,571. On the BSE, HLL witnessed a negotiated deal of 20,000 shares at a price of Rs 1,600. Domestic institutions like UTI and GIC mutual funds were rumoured to have sold MTNL and HLL at the higher levels.

FIIs continued to be net sellers on the local bourses. On the BSE, the FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 62 crore, while on the NSE they sold stocks worth Rs 28.57 crore. Domestic institutions were however net buyers to the tune of Rs 10.22 crore.

The sharp jump in the prices of pivotals like ITC, Telco and HLL was also attributed to a considerable amount of short covering. FIIpurchases at the Novartis counter saw the scrip flare up to Rs 704.95, net gain of over 5 per cent. Speculator favourites, BPL and Videocon Int. hit the upper end of the price band on the local bourses. Interestingly, Indal was locked at the upper end of the price band on the NSE at Rs 58.75, however, profit booking towards the end saw the stock close at Rs 58 registering a net gain of 6.61 per cent.

Cement sector continued to weigh higher on the speculative list, with Panyam Cement and Raasi Cement registering gains to the tune of 5.66 per cent and 7.65 per cent respectively.