The Indian benchmark indices erased some losses to end Monday on a muted note as Infosys Ltd. and HDFC Bank led the gains. The NSE Nifty 50 ended 20.50 points or 0.08% lower at 24,347, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed 56.99 points or 0.07% down at 79,648.92.
Intraday, the Nifty declined as much as 0.64% to 24,212.10 and the Sensex fell 0.60% to 79,226.13.
"Indian markets started the session on a tepid note, followed by a steep recovery," Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Share Brokers, said.
After a range-bound mid-session, a sudden fall in the last session dragged the Nifty lower. A firm close above the 24,450–24,470 zone is a must to resume its uptrend, while the lower side seems to be protected at 24,200, according to Gaggar.
"The current intraday market texture is non-directional. Hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for the day traders," Shrikant Chouhan, head, equity research at Kotak Securities, said.
Infosys Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Hero MotoCorp. led the gains in the Nifty.
Reliance Industries Ltd., State Bank of India, NTPC Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. weighed on the benchmark index.
On the NSE, six sectors ended higher, and the rest ended lower out of 12. The NSE Nifty Media declined the most, and the NSE Nifty Realty rose the most.
The broader indices were mixed as the BSE MidCap ended flat and the SmallCap closed 0.6% higher.
Five of the 20 sectoral indices on the BSE closed lower and 15 ended with gains. BSE Realty was the top gainer.
The narket breadth was skewed in the favour of the sellers as 2,148 stocks fell, 1,925 advanced, and 105 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex End With Little Change; RIL, NTPC, SBI Weigh. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.