The benchmark index Nifty ended flat after scaling a fresh life-time high in a highly volatile trade today on the back of fresh bouts of profit-taking at the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The bellwether index surpassed the 6,800 landmark to conquer a new life-time peak of 6,819.05 in intra-day trade before succumbing to selling pressure. It settled at 6796.40, a mere gain of 0.20 points over the overnight close.
The market witnessed muted rally, led by energy, auto, infra, metal and banking counters in afternoon which helped the key index to rebound sharply from it's day's low. Buying was largely seen in mid and small-cap stocks.
However, healthcare stocks witnessed heavy unwinding from speculators after recent rally along with FMCG counters. Technology scrips remained under intense selling for the third session in a row.
After the overnight rally, trading began on a modestly positive note amid caution. The Nifty breached the 6,800 mark in mid-afternoon session, but suddenly took a U-turn and surrendered entire gains.
Elsewhere in Asia and emerging markets, equities ended higher as sentiment turned buoyant after the US Fed's March meeting minutes indicated interest rates will remain low.
Tata Power, NTPC, BPCL, Cairn, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, SBIN, BHEL, NMDC and HUL were among the top gainers.
Key laggards included Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Lupin, HCL Tech, HeroMoto, TechM, ICICI Bank, Infosys, IndusInd Bank and Bank of Baroda.
Turnover in the cash segment soared to Rs 19,772.05 crore from Rs 16,965.61 crore yesterday. A total of 12,014.01 lakh shares changed hands in 84,84,007 trades, while market capitalisation stood at Rs 74,42,931 crore.
