Govt calms nerves, Sensex ends flat

The move by the government and regulators to ease investor tension worked today with the Sensex ending in the green, though after huge intra-day swings.

The Sensex swung 205 points between 8327 and 8121 before ending the day almost flat at 8222.59, a one point gain. The Nifty closed the day with a rise of 1.25 points to close at 2477.75.

Though volatility defined the day, there was relief the market ended on a positive note today. Except four indices -- PSU, bankex, information technology and oil and gas -- all the 17 indices of the Bombay Stock Exchange were up today. The market breadth also improved compared with yesterday.

Advances rose from about 12 per cent to 35.37 per cent, while declines came down to 63 per cent from 88 per cent yesterday. In all, 905 stocks advanced while 1631 stocks declined on the BSE. While front line stocks showed resilience, mid-caps and small-caps, too, recovered marginally.

A dealer of a leading broking firm said, "After a series of denials from various quarters that there was no sweeping investigation initiated against brokers, markets gained in confidence."

Another dealer said, "The market desperately tried to consolidate as it gyrated in a range of 200 points. Ultimately, frontline stocks found some buying support. However, the mid-cap and small-cap stocks, which lack good fundamentals, continue to be weak."

Brokers said the market would calm down only after the rollover of futures positions starts on Monday. The near-month September futures and options will expire next Thursday.