By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities closed almost flat Monday as a rally in auto and technology scrips offset losses in banking and realty stocks.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened deep in the red at 19,770.02 points, settled at 19,881.75 points, up 0.09 percent or 16.90 points, in a volatile session.
The Sensex crossed the psychologically important 20,000-point mark in the intra-day trading. The index touched a high of 20,006.16 points and low of 19,711.12 points in the intra-day.
Hero Honda surged 18.04 percent to Rs.1,982. Maruti Suzuki jumped nearly three percent to Rs.1,420.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed almost flat. The Nifty settled the day 0.10 percent down at 5,942.95 points.
Sectoral indices closed mixed, with the BSE Auto index gaining 2.3 percent, while the BSE Bankex and Realty index losing nearly 1.5 percent.