Erasing initial losses, the benchmark CNX Nifty settled virtually unchanged with positive bias on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today on tail-end buying in blue-chips amidst global uncertainties.
Firm buying in oil & gas, finance, pharma, auto, metal and infra counters spearheaded the late recovery, which led the 50-share index to gain over four points.
After a sluggish start, the key index mostly traded in a tight range amid choppiness in the absence of any buying support, but news-driven stock specific actions were seen.
However, bottom fishing in late afternoon trade, along with some short-covering, brought the market back into positive territory with the Nifty ending well above the key 5,900 support level. Intense profit-taking in FMCG and technology stocks capped gains.
Elsewhere in Asia, financial markets witnessed heavy sell-off and closed sharply lower with Japan's benchmark Nikkei plunging by over 3.8 per cent, unimpressed by recent structural reform measures amid renewed concerns about the US Fed's QE (quantitative easing) measures.
The Nifty fluctuated widely between a high of 5,935.20 and a low of 5,883.70 before ending at 5,923.85, a marginal rise of 4.40 points, or 0.07 per cent, over its last close.
Reliance Industries topped the Nifty gainer list ahead of the petrochemical giant's annual general meeting tomorrow. Other smart movers included DLF, ONGC, Hindalco, Sun Pharma, RInfra, Maruti, JP Associates, Ranbaxy and Jindal Steel.
Ambuja Cement, ITC, Infosys, HDFC, ACC, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, UltraTech, Bajaj Auto and BHEL were among key losers.
Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 9,186.21 crore from Rs 9,469.36 crore yesterday. A total of 5,076.66 lakh shares changed hands in 48,08,873 trades. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 64,94,642 crore.
