Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed on a mixed note in a volatile trade on Monday amid weak trends in the global markets.
While auto, IT and pharma shares advanced in a restricted trade, selling in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and Tata Consultancy Services capped the gains.
In a lacklustre trading, the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 9.37 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 62,970, logging its third day of decline. During the day, it hit a high of 63,136.09 and a low of 62,853.67.
The NSE Nifty edged up by 25.70 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 18,691.20. It moved between 18,722.05 points and 18,646.70 in the day trade.
"The global market exhibited a negative bias as concerns regarding economic growth emerged in light of the political instability in Russia. This instability led to an increase in oil prices, driven by worries over potential supply disruptions, given Russia's status as one of the largest oil producers," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
On the domestic front, the market experienced limited downside as the pharma and auto sectors provided support, he added.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and HDFC were the major laggards.
On the other hand, Maruti rose the most by 1,67 per cent. Tata Motors, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers.
In Asian markets, Seoul ended in the green, while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Equity markets in Europe were trading lower. The US markets ended in negative territory on Friday.
"Weak Asian and European cues dampened the domestic market sentiment, as benchmarks ended mixed in a range-bound session amid selective buying in key sectoral stocks. Global markets are dictating trends back home and investors don't want to be in a hurry to take long positions in times of high uncertainty," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 1.04 per cent and smallcap index jumped 0.71 per cent.
Among the indices, healthcare advanced 1.45 per cent, auto jumped 1.04 per cent, consumer durables (0.98 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.89 per cent), commodities (0.66 per cent) and FMCG (0.60 per cent).
Energy emerged as the only laggard.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.45 per cent to USD 74.18 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 344.81 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
On Friday, Sensex fell 259.52 points or 0.41 per cent to settle at 62,979.37 points while Nifty declined 105.75 points or 0.56 per cent to end at 18,665.50 points.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
