The Sensex moved in a narrow band of 4,113.79 points to 4,156.58 points, the intra-day low and high respectively before closing at 4,147.29 points.Reflecting the buoyant mood of the market backed by buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), the advancers on the NSE outperformed the decliners in the ratio of 579:538 respectively.

ACC was the star performer of the day with its share price trading at a premium of six per cent over Monday's close. The stock closed at Rs 1,703.15 on Tuesday, registering a gain of 4.71 per cent on the NSE and 4.45 per cent on the BSE where it ended at Rs 1,713.15.

According to market sources, Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund was reported to have bought chunks of ACC which saw the stock touch an intra-dayhigh of Rs 1,725.L&T breached the Rs 250 barrier to close at Rs 271.20, registering a gain of 3.18 per cent. Software stocks continued their northward march on the back of rumours and sound fundamentals.

Among the stocks of multinational companies, Knoll Pharma was locked at the upper end of the price band at Rs 828.50 on the BSE on news that the company is meeting to consider a bonus issue.

However, under similar conditions Leading Edge fell by 2 per cent to close at Rs 890. A fall in the net profit of Grasim Industries failed to have a negative impact on market sentiment. The stock firmed up from Rs 335 to touch a high of Rs 360. Unit Trust was reported to have booked profits in ACC, Nestle and Cadbury.