In rangebound trading the BSE benchmark Sensex ended a shade higher by 1.57 points in the special 90-minute trading session today as funds refrained from making any major commitments in the absence of global cues.
The 30-share index, which gained a moderate 13.66 points in the previous session, rose by 1.57 points to 21,755.32, after moving between 21,778.92 and 21,725.52.
In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty advanced 1.70 points to 6,494.90. The gauge touched the day’s high of 6,502.65 and a low of 6,481.35.
The stock exchanges conducted a special live trading session between 1115 hrs to 1245 hrs to enable the National Stock Exchange (NSE) test its software.
Brokers said the market moved in a limited range as directionless investors and funds refrained from undertaking any major transactions due to the weekend closure of global markets.
Of the 30 BSE index kitty stocks, 15 gained, while the other 15 ended lower.
While Dr Reddy’s Labs, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and Maruti Suzuki gained, stocks of Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, BHEL and HDFC Bank declined on profit-booking from the previous session’s upsurge.
The healthcare sector index gained the most by rising 0.66 per cent to 10,325.55 followed by the Consumer Durable index by 0.39 per cent to 6,252.07. The auto index rose by 0.36 per cent to 12,771.75 and the oil and gas index by 0.26 per cent to 9,078.66.
Both leading bourses conducted a live trading session to test the disaster recover site (DRS).
The exchanges have also informed that shares purchased for delivery in the previous session will not be available for selling during the special session today.