The benchmark Nifty ended little changed in a choppy session as profit booking after a four-session rally led the key index to end at 7,485.30, down by merely 0.05 points.
Investors opted to book profits in a volatile session after caution returned following weak economic data from China, which again raised global slowdown fears.
The index, which reclaimed the crucial 7,500-mark on widespread buying amid tinge of short-covering, mostly gave up the day's gains on profit-booking to end flat.
Good buying was witnessed in energy, metal, pharma, FMCG and infra segments followed by the broader mid-cap and small-cap shares, while profit-booking was witnessed in bank, IT, PSU Banks and financials.
Elsewhere, most Asian stocks ended lower, while European market was trading lower in afternoon trade after disappointing Chinese February trade dampened sentiments.
The market was closed yesterday for 'Mahashivratri'.
The 50-share broader index opened higher at 7,486.40 and hovered in a range of 7,527.15 and 7,442.15, before ending at 7,485.30, a marginal loss of 0.05 points.
Major losers were Bank of Baroda (4.70 per cent), SBI (2.68 per cent), HUL (2.65 per cent), Maruti (2.60 per cent), HCL Tech (2.41 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.66 per cent) and Axis Bank (1.03 per cent).
Notable gainers were Cairn (6.67 per cent), Hindalco (4.72 per cent), Vedanta (3.38 per cent), GAIL (2.52 per cent) and Lupin (2.50 per cent).
Of the total 1,629 stocks traded, 766 ended higher, 787 finished lower, while 76 ruled steady.
Turnover in cash segment declined to Rs 17,889.56 crore from Rs 18,177.98 crore on Friday. A total of 10,834.48 lakh shares changed hands in 82,00,924 trades.
The market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 90,06,029 crore.
