Hectic profit-booking during mid- session sapped the market's sharp intra-day gains to end on a flat note as the CNX-Nifty managed a mere 3-points rise at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) here today.
Earlier, IT bellwether Infosys Q3 results ending December 31 had appraised a sharp rise in its net profits, posting 21.4 per cent and projected revenue growth which propelled infotech shares to surge by 2.16 per cent, also supported by FMCG, energy as well as pharma sectors leading the key index to touch 6,239.10 points.
However, the market which showed a wide momentum of nearly 100 points, encountered extreme volatility and hectic selling in frontline shares during mid-session trades. Data which showed only a 3.49 per cent rise in exports in December led the key index to pare all its intra-day gains.
Selling was witnessed in banking, auto, metal and infra sectors, besides mid-cap and small-cap counters.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 3.74 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchange.
The market resumed higher amid mixed global peers but volatility struck reversing initial gains.
For a brief period, it traded in a sharply positive zone following Infy's Q3 results, but later choppiness ruled the roost once again as the key index lost most of its intra-day gains to end only marginally higher.
The 50-share Nifty hovered between a high of 6,239.10 points and a low of 6,139.60 points before closing at 6,171.45 points, showing a marginal gain at 3.10 points, or 0.05 per cent, over the previous close.
Major gainers were Infy, ITC, TCS, Wipro, Dr Reddys, ONGC, HCL Tech, Reliance, Sunpharma and BPCL, while Indusind Bank, IDFC, Coal India, Ranbaxy, Ambuja Cem, M&M, ACC, SBIN, PNB and JP Associate encountered profit booking.
Turnover in the cash segment rose to Rs 13,012.02 crore from Rs 11,433.13 crore yesterday. A total of 7,010.18 lakh shares changed hands in 64,93,835 trades, while market capitalisation stood at Rs 67,67,793 crore.
