Markets in consolidation mode, Sensex ends flat

MUMBAI: The stock markets on Tuesday showed signs of consolidation with the benchmark Sensex ending flat on alternate bouts of buying and selling despite weak global trends.

Most of the Asian indices ended in the red, following bearishness on Wall Street last night. European markets also opened subdued on Tuesday.

The weak global cues weighed on the local bourses which have seen choppy sessions for the last two days.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange barometer concluded the day at 18,663.16, a mere rise of 2.84 points, over its previous close.

The Sensex during the day moved in the range of 18,729.83 and 18509.54 points, reflecting volatility.

However, the broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange moved up further by 20.40 points to 5,483.90 from previous close of 5,463.50.

While metal, refinery, power, PSU and realty stocks staged a smart rally on BSE, a sharp decline in bank, IT and auto counters negated the overall gains.

Marketmen said IT shares suffered a sharp setback owing to a gloomy outlook in US. There has been wide spread concerns of the world's largest economy falling into recession. US contributes more than 50 per cent the revenue for most of these companies, they added.

The market mainly got support from Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) as they continued to buy shares and pumped in Rs 731.83 crore on Monday, while Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) also picked up shares worth Rs 163.74 crore on the same day as per provisional data.