Indian markets on Tuesday recovered from a volatile trading session throughout the day to shut shop on a flat note with positive bias.
Investors remained nervous owing to renewed political turbulence and possibility of major announced reforms getting stalled due to it.
Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, which supports the UPA Government from outside, might withdraw its support leading to early polls.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 23.11 points (0.12 per cent) at 18,704.53 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 7.75 points (0.14 per cent) at 5,641.60.
On the BSE, most sectors closed in the green with consumer durables and FMCG supporting the Sensex and closing up by 1.59 and 1.13, respectively.
On the other hand, oil and gas, realty and capital goods stocks lost favour with investors. Oil and gas index closed down 2.06 per cent as heavyweight RIL tumbled by over 3 per cent.
On the NSE, Airtel, HUL, Ranbaxy, Coal India and Tata Motors were the top gainers while Reliance Infra, Siemens , RIL, Hero Motocorp and GAIL were the top losers.
Asian shares were down as investors were worried that the European Union’s plan to rescue Cyprus could be used as a precedent for other European countries.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 74.84 points or 0.6 per cent at 12,471.62 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 39.39 points or 0.18 per cent at 22,211.76.
European stocks were unchanged ahead of US data that may show durable goods orders increased and new house sales held close to a four-year high last month.