Indian equities end flat after robust opening

Mumbai, March 31

After trading in the positive terrain for the bulk of the day on Tuesday, a key Indian stock market index ended flat, with a marginal loss of 18.37 percent or 0.07 percent, as per provisional data.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened above the psychologically-important 28,000-point mark at 28,069.85 points and inched up to the intra-day high of 28,180.64 points -- a gain of over 200 points.

However, the downturn started around an hour before the closing bell, when the index shed some 310 points from the peak level in a matter of minutes and was quoting lower than the previous day's close at 27,975.86 points.

During this fall, attributed to profit-taking, the barometer index in a matter of a few minutes fell to a low of 27,868.21 points. At this point, the index was down 107 points. As trading closed, the index was at 27,957.49 points with a loss of 18.37 points or 0.07 percent.

After a similar trend at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share CNX Nifty closed at 8,491 points, down 1.30 points or 0.02 percent, again as per provision data provided by the bourse.

The stocks of oil and gas, healthcare and auto companies were collectively the top performers, while the indices of banking, capital goods, information technology, consumer durables and fast-moving consumer goods were the worst, with each of them in the negative territory.

On Monday, after eight consecutive sessions when the markets either ended flat or in the red, the 30-scrip Sensex had gained over 500 points, or nearly 2 percent, closing at 27,975.86 points, up 517.22 points or 1.88 percent from the previous day's close at 27,458.64 points.