Mumbai, Feb. 26: The railway budget and short-covering by investors helped the sensex to register gains for the first time in four trading sessions.

The sensex was at one time down by 248 points but recouped its losses and posted gains in the last hour, riding on the back of budget tidings.

The rally was led by scrips which benefited from the budget.

Steel and cement shares gained as railway minister Lalu Prasad cut freight rates on these commodities.

The cuts on petrol and diesel also perked up the shares of oil companies. Banking scrips also gained today.