A strong rebound in industrial output data and easing inflationary pressure failed to boost investor confidence as the recent pullback rally simply ran out of steam with the NSE benchmark ending flat today.
The 50-share Nifty fluctuated heavily between a high of 5,884.30 and a low of 5,822.90 before settling at 5,850.60, down 0.10 points over its last close.
After a weak start due to global sluggishness and continued profit taking, the key index soon recouped early losses and traded in green, taking support from the stronger- than-expected factory output and inflation data. However, the market later turned extremely choppy and ended flat.
Meanwhile, industrial growth rebounded after two consecutive months of contraction to 2.6 per cent in July and retail inflation eased to 9.52 per cent in August.
Barring FMCG stocks, all other sectoral indices ended in green. Capital goods, auto, financial, energy and metal counters posted gains.
Among other Asian markets, barring Japan all other bourses finished lower following overnight sell-off in Wall Street as investors remained cautious on US Federal Reserve's far-reaching decision on tapering its UD 85-billion-a-month asset-purchase programme in next policy meeet on Wednesday.
HCL, UltraTech, ITC, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and HUL were among the top losers from the Nifty pack.
Key gainers included BHEL, DLF, Axis Bank, PNB, M&M, Reliance Infra, JP Associates, Coal India, L&T and Kotak Bank.
Turnover in the cash segment declined to Rs 11,035.26 crore from 12,999.01 crore yesterday. A total of 6,754.15 lakh shares changed hands in 61,62,818 trades. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 62,53,522 crore.
