Markets Pare Early Gains to Close Flat in Green

The bears re-asserted their supremacy in the last hour of trade to cut short the dominance of the bulls through most part of the trading session. The Sensex ended at 18090, higher by 68 points and the Nifty ended at 5432, up 14 points. The Sensex have pared some of its gains due to profit taking. Realty, oil & gas, teck and metal stocks gained, while power, capital goods and auto dropped. The BSE Mid and small caps underperformed their larger counterparts gaining 0.16 per cent and 0.25 per cent respectively. Market breadth was positive with 1,578 advances against 1,270 declines. The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange surged by 219.18 points or 1.21 per cent to 18,241.40 within the first few minutes of trade, with oil and gas, realty and banking stocks leading the pack. Investor sentiment was boosted by aggressive buying by funds on the back of overnight gains in the US market and a firming trend in other Asian bourses.