Mumbai: In yet another session of quiet and range-bound trade, the Sensex today (Sep 9, 2004) ended flat at 5298.23 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), but remained on positive turf with a fractional gain of 0.07 points to ensure a complete five-day winning streak.

Key heavyweights like ITC, RIL, HLL and Ranbaxy notched up handsome gains and mainly helped the Sensex to close on positive terrain, a dealer said.

Tobacco Giant ITC Ltd was in keen demand on news that the Supreme Court today delivered a judgement giving ITC a relief of Rs 803 crore on account of excise duty but within minutes recalled its judgement as the unsigned order was smuggled out of the court room without permission.

The BSE-30 share sensitive index opened firm at 5307.83 as against yesterday's close of 5298.16 and moved in a range between 5328.33 and 5269.51 before ending at 5298.23, up by a mere 0.07 points.

Recently favoured medium and small-caps reacted downwards on profit-booking by operators and retail investors, as marketmen believed that these scrips have peaked and would not sustain further gains, a broker commented.

However, Zee Telefilms showed subdued trend on selling pressure after the Bombay High Court suggested ESPN-Star Sports and Zee Telefilms to submit fresh bids for telecast rights to it.

Traders expect range bound trade again tomorrow in the absence of fresh triggers to activate the market.