Heavy buying in realty, healthcare and IT stocks helped the Sensex recover at the end of the session on Thursday despite weak global cues.
The Sensex ended up 81 points (0.46 per cent) at 17,571.81 and the Nifty ended up 32.4 points (0.61 per cent) at 5,320.20.
Realty index (up 1.83 per cent) was the top performer followed by healthcare (0.74 per cent) and IT (0.7 per cent) indices. Metal index (down 0.41 per cent) was the major laggard followed by oil & gas (0.23 per cent) and auto (0.04 per cent).
Top five Sensex gainers were Hindalco, TCS, Cipla, Tata Motors and Wipro while GAIL, Maruti, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Hero MotoCorp were the top five losers.
Trading remained lacklustre throughout the day in the absence of any fresh market triggers.
Global stocks were down as reports from Germany, Japan and South Korea deepened concerns that the global economy is slowing. Also, investors doubted if the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will announce further stimulus.