Trading commenced on a weak note in the absence of any major trigger amid selling in select heavyweight stocks. The key index largely moved in a narrow range in early part of the session and slipped below 5,900 level in afternoon.
However, some lower-level buying towards the tail-end helped the market to rebound from day's low and cap losses and close above the crucial 5,900 mark.
The 50-share Nifty had gained nearly 72 points in the last two sessions on the back policy announcements and optimism of monetary easing by RBI soon.
Globally, most Asian peers closed higher despite ongoing uncertainties over the fiscal talks and release of a slew of US economic data, including final Q3 GDP number.
Auto was the worst sectoral performer followed by financials, oil & gas, capital goods and pharma. Buying was, however, seen in metal, FMCG and technology stocks.
The Nifty fluctuated between a high of 5,937.60 and a low of 5,881.45 before finishing at 5,916.40, a marginal fall of 13.20 points, or 0.22 per cent, over the last close.
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Ambuja Cement, Sun Pharma, BPCL, JP Associates, Cairn, M&M, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Wipro and IDFC were the key Nifty losers. Gainers included Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel, HUL, TCS, Cipla, GAIL, Maruti, Tata Power and Sesa Goa.
The turnover in cash segment dropped to Rs 11,924.91 crore from Rs 14,124.91 crore yesterday. Overall, 8,164.07 lakh shares changed hands in 60,32,029 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 67,13,569 crore.