Fag-end buying in select counters helped S&P BSE Sensex reverse early losses to end with a gain of over 22 points at 19,245.70, amid uncertainty over outcome of the US Federal Reserve policy meeting ending later today.
After slipping around 103 points yesterday, Sensex was under selling pressure as investors offloaded shares mainly in auto, power, PSUs and healthcare. The rupee remaining in the 58.7 levels also added to investors concerns. However, Sensex later recovered as buying was seen in fag-end and finished at 19,245.70, a gain of 22.42 points or 0.12 per cent.
In the 30-share Sensex pack, 15 stocks led by HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco gained. However, Infosys, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors and Sun Pharma ended in negative territory.
Similarly, the NSE 50-share CNX Nifty moved up by 8.65 points or 0.15 per cent to 5,822.25. Also, SX40, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed 14.04 points higher at 11,427.07.
Brokers said investors were reluctant to add big positions and mostly stayed on sidelines ahead of US Federal Reserve meet ending later today. Expectations are high that Fed chief Ben Bernanke will give a guidance on Quantitative Easing (QE) and some hints on when the monthly asset purchases will tapered off, they added.
Shares from consumer durable and metal segments attracted investor attention. Second-line stocks outperformed the Sensex and Nifty on buying interest by the retail investors.
Shares of telecom companies remained in demand after regulator Trai decided not to make roaming services completely free of charge. Bharti Airtel rose 2.83 per cent, Rcom gained 2.38 per cent and Idea Cellular jumped 4.52 per cent.
Outside of major benchmark indices, shares of IDFC caught investors' fancy and gained 0.94 per cent after the company's board has approved a proposal to seek licence from RBI for setting up a bank. Religare Enterprises, however, ended flat.
Globally, barring Japan, most of the other Asian stocks ended lower as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the conclusion of the FOMC meet. Fed policy statement is due at 1800 GMT (11.30 p.M. IST) and Bernanke is expected to brief the press half an hour later.
