Equities rise first, but end flat

Mirroring Asian markets, the Indian bourses managed to open on a positive note on Tuesday but investors resorted to profit-booking at every peak during the day, leading the markets to end flat.

Written by Markets Bureau

February 20, 2008 23:35 IST

Mirroring Asian markets, the Indian bourses managed to open on a positive note on Tuesday but investors resorted to profit-booking at every peak during the day, leading the markets to end flat.

Dealers said there were lack of triggers from the US markets which were closed on Monday for President’s Day holiday.

The Sensex, after opening with a positive gap of around 200 points, closed at 18,075.66 points, posting minor gains of 27.61 points or 0.15% while the broader Nifty managed to gain 3.91 points or 0.07% to close at 5,280.80 points.

As per the provisional figures from the stock exchanges, amid low gross values the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers at Rs 329.25 crore while the domestic institutional investors took to profit-booking by selling shares worth Rs 48.29 crore on Tuesday.

Experts believe that the markets will continue to witness volatility ahead of the announcement of the Union Budget later this month.

This article was first uploaded on February twenty, twenty eight, at thirty-five minutes past eleven in the night.