Tata Steel and HDFC were the principal gainers as the BSE Sensex ended in positive territory today, the fifth day in a row, in a session of volatile trade that saw heavy profit-selling and FII purchases.

The bellwether Sensex touched an intra-day high of 14,994.31, coming with a striking distance of the 15,000-mark.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer settled the day at 14,874.91, netting a gain of 34.28 points or 0.23 per cent over its previous close.

Marketmen said foreign funds made sizeable purchases in second-line stocks while some domestic institutional investors and operators booked profits in blue-chip counters.

The broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange, however, was fractionally down 4.65 points or 0.10 per cent at 4,525.25 from its last close.

However, bulls held sway in the midst of high expectations of industry-friendly proposals in the full budget, to be presented by the new government next month.

Tata Steel added another 8.24 per cent to its kitty on strong domestic demand and a sharp rise in metal prices on London Metal Exchange (LME) and ended at Rs 474.05.

Among key gainers, HDFC gained 4.19 per cent, Sterlite Ind 3.87 per cent, Tata Motors 3.31 per cent, Mah & Mah 2.10 per cent, SBI 1.58 per cent, Grasim 1.57 per cent and ICICI Bank 1.28 per cent.