The Sensex and the Nifty ended largely flat on Monday as gains in stocks such as HDFC Bank were offset by volatility in crude oil prices and caution ahead of the derivatives contracts’ expiry later in the week.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 50.29 points or 0.21 per cent at 24,485.95 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended up by 13.7 points or 0.18 per cent at 7,436.15.
Both indexes marked gains for a second straight session.
Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index gained the most by 1.58 per cent, followed by consumer durables 1.34 per cent, healthcare 0.97 per cent and realty 0.5 per cent. On the other hand, capital goods index was down 0.9 per cent, followed by auto 0.69 per cent, power 0.4 per cent and infrastructure 0.29 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Steel (+2.73%), Sun Pharma (+2.25%), ONGC (+1.57%), Coal India (+1.52%) and ICICI Bank (+1.46%), while the major losers were GAIL (-3.09%), Hero MotoCorp (-2.52%), L&T (-2.46%), Tata Motors (-1.9%) and Adani Ports (-1.49%).
Early trade
The 30-share index rose 159.47 points or 0.65 per cent to 24,595.13. The NSE index Nifty too edged higher by 60.40 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 7,482.85.
Volatility gauge
India's volatility gauge VIX, which measures the local market's expectation of volatility in the near term, fell 1.5 per cent on Monday.
"We need to see fresh delivery to make a conviction call that we've seen the bottom," said Gaurang Shah, vice-president at Geojit BNP Paribas.
"Volatility will be there, it's expiry week and a truncated one."
Stock markets will remain closed tomorrow for the Republic Day.
Global markets
European shares fell on Monday, with shares in major oil and gas companies losing ground as an oil price rally fizzled out.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which rose 3 per cent on Friday to mark its first weekly gain for 2016, fell 0.3 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX also both fell 0.1 per cent.
Asian stocks moved further away on Monday from four-year lows struck last week, as the blizzard on the US East coast pushed oil prices higher, relieving some of the bearish pressure on Wall Street and world markets.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.2 per cent, putting further distance between a four-year low plumbed last week.