Reflecting the mixed reaction, the 30-share Sensex slipped below the crucial benchmark of 3,300 points during the mid session to register a low of 3,246.03 points. However, short covering coupled with genuine buying by FIIs at select counters saw the index stabilise at 3,309.15 points, registering a net gain of 11.29 points.

Although negotiated deals have been brought under the ambit of regular price bands from January 18, a single deal of 10,000 shares was reported on the BSE at the NIIT counter at a discount of over 17 per cent. The deal was reported by a leading FII brokerage at a price of Rs 1,962, a discount of over 17 per cent to the prevailing market price of Rs 2,300.

Meanwhile, domestic institutions and FIIs were net sellers on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with their net sales pegged at a high of Rs 67 crore. The exchange's turnover spurted by over 10per cent to touch a high of Rs 1,819.43 crore. However, more than 90 per cent of the turnover was contributed by the specified group of stocks comprising of 150 companies.

Pentafour Software registered a phenomenal turnover of Rs 313.88 crore to be ranked as the highest traded stock on the BSE. Further FII buying at this counter has now been restricted by RBI, since they have already reached the permissible limit of 24 per cent.

Speculative sales were centered at the Tata Tea counter with the company's performance falling much below market expectation. While the market expected a profit figure of Rs 50 crore for this quarter, the company announced a profit of Rs 28 crore. Since results were announced during the market hours, punters rushed to liquidate their positions built earlier during the week ended January 22. The stock was hammered to a low of Rs 365.25 from the day's high of Rs 408. In the final countdown, however, the stock closed at Rs 377.75 with a huge volume of 38.38 lakh shares on the BSE.Cochin Refinery flared up by over 8 per cent to trade at the day's high of Rs 166 after the company announced a 40 per cent jump in its profits.

On the negotiated segment of the BSE, Telco registered huge volumes of over 75,000 shares at Rs 215. Most of these trades were institutional deals reported today on the exchange. Similarly, NIIT, Punjab Tractors, HDFC, Zee Telefilms, MTNL, Visual Software and Tata Infotech registered huge volumes at the negotiated segment.