Mumbai, July 4: The easing of political uncertainty at the Centre coupled with short-covering today led to a pull-back in equities, which overlooked the higher-than-anticipated inflation numbers. The Bombay Stock Exchange sensex gained 359.89 points, or 2.75 per cent, to end at 13454.

Though inflation climbed to 11.63 per cent for the week ended June 21, there was a feeling of relief on it not touching the 12-per-cent mark.

Though the benchmark sensex did show some weakness from its highs after inflation data were released, it soon regained its composure to end on a positive note.

After opening at 13127.10, the sensex hit an intra-day high of 13509.74 and finished the day at 13454, a gain of 2.75 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty also gained 90.25 points, or 2.30 per cent, at 4016.00.

Many heavyweights that were under pressure in recent sessions saw sharp increases in their values. Shares of Reliance Communications, for instance, gained more than 12 per cent.

Among others, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI Bank ended in the green.

Government paper

However, the inflation outlook had its impact on the government securities market where yields on the benchmark 10-year today breached 9 per cent to hit a seven year high.