The benchmark Sensex ended the last trading day of the year with a moderate gain of 28 points in a listless session, led by heavyweight Reliance Industries, to clock its second annual increase in a row.
The year saw the index rise to an all-time high as foreign investors pumped in USD 20.1 billion into equities.
Ten of the 12 BSE sectoral indices advanced today, led by power and oil & gas stocks. The metal and FMCG sectors fell.
Tata Power and Wipro topped the 17 gainers on the index while BHEL and Maruti Suzuki were among the losers.
The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex opened higher and traded in a narrow range of over 100 points before ending at 21,170.68, a rise of 27.67 points or 0.13 per cent. In 2013, it added 1,743.97 points or 8.98 per cent. The Sensex had jumped almost 26 per cent last year.
The broader, 50-share CNX Nifty on the National Stock Exchange firmed up by 12.9 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 6,304.00. It gained 398.90 points, or 6.76 per cent, in 2013.
The Sensex had climbed to a record high of 21,483.74 on December 9 after the BJP's wins in three state elections.
Other factors that drove investor sentiment this year were the rupee, which fell to a record low in August, the US Federal Reserve's plan to taper its stimulus programme and the Reserve Bank's interest rate increases to combat inflation.
"The concerns over the next few months will be on the pace of the Fed tapering and on the outcome of the general elections," said Dipen Shah, Head - Private Client Group Research at Kotak Securities. "While an accelerated taper will impact liquidity flows into India, the absence of a clear mandate for any particular political party will be negative from the reforms perspective."
Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth a net Rs 128.9 crore yesterday.
Overseas investors have bought a net Rs 1.13 lakh crore (USD 20.1 billion) of Indian shares in 2013 compared with Rs 1.3 lakh crore (USD 24 billion) in 2012, as per Sebi data.
In terms of market capitalisation, investor wealth rose by Rs 1.10 lakh crore over the year to about Rs 70.32 lakh crore.
