By IANS
Mumbai : Indian stock markets opened higher Monday, up 240 points on the back of strong US cues, but failed to hold on to the gains at the higher levels.
The benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) shut shop at 19,633.36, losing 65 points or 0.33 percent.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed flat at 5,908 points.
The broader mid-cap and small-cap indices outperformed the Sensex. The BSE mid-cap index closed at 8,730.82, gaining 218.44 points or 2.57 percent and the small-cap index scaled up by 292.16 points or 2.81 percent, plotting at 10,672.89.
Sugar stocks saw heavy buying. Balrampur was up 11 percent, Triveni surged 19 percent and Bajaj Hindustan advanced six percent.
The top gainers on the Sensex were ACC, which surged 4.25 percent at Rs.1,083.85, Cipla advanced 3.43 percent at Rs.186.85 and Bajaj Auto moved up 3.32 percent at Rs.2,426.20.
The top losers on the Sensex were ITC Ltd, which slid down 3.10 percent at Rs.198.80, ICICI Bank down by 2.67 percent at Rs.1,186.85 and HDFC Bank declined 1.89 percent at Rs.1,655.20.