Mumbai April 23 (IANS) The Indian equity indices witnessed a volatile trade session on Monday and closed on a flat-to-positive note as healthy quarterly results drove investors sentiments.
According to market observers healthy buying was witnessed in healthcare IT and auto stocks.
However global cues profit booking and upcoming derivatives expiry arrested the upward movement of the key indices.
Index-wise the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed higher by 20.65 points or 0.20 per cent at 10 584.70 points.
The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE which opened at 34 493.69 points closed at 34 450.77 points -- up 35.19 points or 0.10 per cent -- from its previous session s close.
The Sensex touched a high of 34 663.95 points and a low of 34 259.27 during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was tilted towards the bulls with 1 384 advances and 1 304 declines.
In the broader market segment the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed higher by 0.49 per cent and the small-cap index inched up by 0.53 per cent.
"It has been a volatile day on the bourses as markets have not been able to hold on to gains while bears have been unsuccessful in putting a lid on positive sentiment. Benchmark indices opened lower on negative global clues but recovered as the session progressed " said Abhijeet Dey Senior Fund Manager-Equities BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
"However unable to hold onto larger gains both the benchmarks -- Sensex and the Nifty -- finally closed the day near the flat line."
HDFC Securities Retail Research Head Deepak Jasani said: "Markets ended with modest gains on Monday after a sell-off from the highs curbed the gains. Selling emerged from the highs of 10 638 points (on Nifty50).
"Trading was volatile ahead of derivative expiry this week " Jasani told IANS.
On the currency front the Indian rupee weakened by 35 paise on Monday to 66.48 against the US dollar from its previous close at 66.13.
In terms of investments provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrip worth Rs 259.08 crore while the domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 387.26 crore.
Sector-wise the S&P BSE healthcare index rose by 178.18 points followed by IT which gained 89.92 points and auto stocks which edged up by 83.33 points.
On the other hand the S&P BSE metal index fell by 133.04 points FMCG index by 47.57 points and basic materials index by 7.92 points.
In another major market development IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday emerged as the first Indian listed company to cross the $100-billion mark in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap).
On closing basis however the company s m-cap stood at Rs 653 767.50 crore or $99.05 billion on the BSE. Share price of the company settled at Rs 3 415.20 each up 0.26 per cent from the previous close.
The major Sensex gainers on Monday were IndusInd Bank up 3.40 per cent at Rs 1 875.60; Mahindra and Mahindra up 2.74 per cent at Rs 822.50; Sun Pharma up 1.74 per cent at Rs 514.20; Asian Paints up 1.68 per cent at Rs 1 178.60; and Yes Bank up 1.49 per cent at Rs 313.05 per share.
The top losers on Sensex were HDFC Bank down 1.42 per cent at Rs 1 933.05; Tata Motors (DVR) down 1.15 per cent at Rs 188.75; Coal India down 0.98 per cent at Rs 289.20; Hindustan Unilever down 0.97 per cent at Rs 1 451.25; and ICICI Bank down 0.85 per cent at Rs 279.55 per share.
--IANS
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