The 30-share index, which lost over 100 points at the outset, closed the session with a moderate gain of 3.70 points at 14,303.41.
MUMBAI: The stock markets ended flat after a see-saw ride between positive and negative territories with the benchmark BSE Sensex gaining a mere 3.7 points to settle above the 14,300-mark for the first time in three months.
Auto and metal shares declined, led by Bajaj Auto which dropped 8.5 per cent on demerger concerns. But a rally in heavyweight Reliance Industries, which touched a record high of 1,705, and upsurge in bank stocks supported the Sensex.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index, opened lower at 14,261.47 and continued to veer in and out of positive terrain in a range of 14,337.06 and 14,201.01.
It later concluded the day at 14,303.41, a gain of 0.03 per cent over Thursday's close of 14,299.71.
Friday's close is the highest since February 19, when the index ended at 14,402.90 points. The Sensex had touched its highest peak of 14,723.88 points on February 9.
The broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), however, ended slightly lower by 5.05 points or 0.12 per cent to 4,214.50 from previous close of 4,219.55.
Dealers attributed the two-way movements to alternate bouts of buying and selling on the last day of the week.
Auto-major, Bajaj Auto suffered a sharp setback for the second successive day after approval of a demerger scheme yesterday, splitting the group into three separate entities. Other auto shares like Tata motors and Maruti also ended weak.
Metal shares also were at the receiving end following a fall in metal prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) yesterday as copper hit 3-month low.
Market breadth remained negative, as 1,491 counters ended with losses and 1,106 finished with gains.
The trading volume dropped sharply to Rs 4,696.75 crore from Rs 5,951.91 crore on Thursday. Bajaj Auto topped the list of highest traded securities with a turnover of Rs 252.87 crore followed by United Spirits (Rs 174.57 crore), Glaxo Pharma (Rs 132.13 crore), RIL (Rs 130.98 crore) and Unitech (Rs 121.30 crore).
The broad-based BSE-100 index closed fractionally down at 7,313.27 from previous close of 7,314.86.
The BSE-200 index and the BSE-500 index ended flat at 1,731.34 and 5,530.17 from overnight close of 1,730.90 and 5,529.10. The Dollex-30 and the Dollex-200 eased to 2,871.17 and 704.76 at close compared to 2,876.76 and 706.14 previously.
RIL rose by 14.55 to 1699.40, ICICI Bank by 14.95 to 950.70, HDFC Bank by 35.80 to 1072.05, Bharti Airtel by 3.15 to 852.65, Hero Honda by 7.95 to 686.60, L&T by 4.85 to 1726.90, ITC by 1.95 to 167.00, Ranbaxy by 1.95 to 396.75, REL by 1.35 to 511.30, Satyam Computer by 2.70 to 455.30 and TCS by 3.30 to 1251.60.
Bajaj Auto dropped by 213.50 to 2286.80, Tata Motors by 8.00 to 742.75, Maruti by 7.65 to 807.65, Grasim by 21.55 to 2509.25, ACC by 14.05 to 875.15, GACL by 4.20 to 119.15, BHEL by 4.10 to 2620.65, HDFC by 8.55 to 1701.15, Tata Steel by 6.30 to 591.05, Hindalco by 2.25 to 146.75, HLL by 1.55 to 193.50, NTPC by 3.00 to 155.70, Reliance Com by 3.95 to 495.85 and SBI by 2.35 to 1325.75.
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