The Sensex opened firm at 3994.88 and moved up breaching the crucial 4000-mark to touch the intra-day high of 4016.09 points. After mid-session it attracted sustained off-loading by operators in the form of profit booking as a result of which the index touched the day's low level of 3931.84 points, before closing at 3946.53 points gaining by a mere 2.99 points compared to previous close of 3943.54 points. NSE's S&P CNX NIFTY followed suit with a gain of four points and closed at 1247 points.

According to brokers, cautious approach by operators was anticipated as markets have witnessed volatility of more than 200 points in the first two days of current settlement (Monday and Tuesday). A correction in the form of profit-taking was obvious. However institutional activity was at low ebb, they added.

Old economy stocks were the major gainers with ICICI Bank being the most active counter attracting almost two upper circuits rising by 15.96 per cent to touch Rs 142.75.

Bajaj Auto gained 5.18 per cent to close at Rs 264. ACC gained 4.28 per cent to close at Rs 115.85, HPCL continued it's upsurge even today with a rise of four per cent to close at Rs 137.50. Cements stocks L&T and Grasim also gained 2.87 per cent and 2.80 per cent to close at Rs 166.80 and Rs 222 respectively.

However, new economy stocks have grabbed all the top 10 positions in terms of turnover during the day. These stocks were led by HFCL, which posted a turnover of 487.67 crore with volumes of 37.51 lakh shares. Other active scrips include Satyam, Infosys, Global Tele and SSI.