Indian equities, the Sensex and the Nifty, ended the session flat as investors remained cautious ahead of voting on retail FDI in Parliament scheduled later today.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 33.16 points (0.17 per cent) at 19,381.28 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 17.85 points (0.3 per cent) at 5,907.10.
Volume toppers were SBI, Tata Motors, Infosys, Sun Pharma and RIL. Top five Sensex gainers were Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and SBI, while the top five losers were Tata Power, Wipro, Infosys, Bajaj Auto and M&M.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index (up 2.69 per cent), metal (1.64 per cent), oil & gas (0.68 per cent) and banking (0.65 per cent) supported the Sensex. On the other hand, IT index (down 1.23 per cent), TECk (0.95 per cent), power (0.55 per cent) and healthcare (0.2 per cent) capped the gains.
Asian and European stocks rose after China signalled wider policy support for the economic recovery by allowing insurers to invest more in banks and promote urbanisation.