By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities markets ended a highly volatile day on a sombre note Tuesday, with key index closing just below its previous closing figure.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 12,159.74 points, dipped 3.67 points or 0.03 percent from its previous close to end trade at 12,131.08 points.
The Sensex touched an intra-day high of 12,159.74 points on opening and a low of 11,985.88 points in the afternoon.
Tracing a similar path, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), however, gained 0.22 percent to close at 3,661.9 points.
Broader market indices also gained, with the BSE midcap index moving up 1.85 percent and the BSE smallcap index climbing 1.98 percent.
Of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE, the indices for realty, metal and banking stocks gained the most.
Among top gainers were DLF, up 11.36 percent at Rs.260.30; Tata Steel, up 8.8 percent at Rs.286.15; ICICI Bank, up 7.64 percent at Rs.569.45 and Reliance Infra, up 5.95 percent at Rs.272.50.
Losers included HDFC, down 5.04 percent at Rs.1,859; ITC, down 3.94 percent at Rs.197.55; M&M, down 2.96 percent at Rs.533.55 and Infosys, down 2.84 percent at Rs.1,582.95.
Market breadth was positive, with 1,622 scrips advancing, 919 stocks declining and 94 remaining unchanged.
Companies that were most traded in rupee terms included ICICI Bank, Reliance Capital and Unitech.
In Asian markets, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed Tuesday.
The Hang Seng, a key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ended trade 49.03 points or 0.3 percent higher at 16,430.08 points.
European markets were trading mixed with the FTSE in Britain trading 116.13 points up at 4,359.35 points and its French peer CAC 40 ruling marginally in the green, a 3.61 point increase at 3,241.58 points.
Data with the market watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), showed that foreign funds were net buyers Monday lapping up scrips worth $295.60 million.