The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday closed with a moderate gain of 26 points in a choppy trade following weak global cues and traders turning cautious ahead of allocation of portfolios by new government.
The Sensex settled at 13,913.22 points, a gain of 26.07 points over the previous close. It moved in a range of 14,028.06 points to 13,819.25 points during the day.
However, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed marginally lower by 0.95 point at 4,237.55. It shuttled between 4,270.05 points and 4,205.10 points.
The market wiped off early gains following a weak trend in Asian stock markets, which fell after North Korea said it conducted a nuclear test, marketmen said.
Traders turned cautious ahead of the allocation of portfolios by the new government tomorrow, they added.
Among Sensex stocks, Ranbaxy Laboratories recorded the biggest gain of 20.73 per cent at Rs 266.70; a day after its chief executive officer Malvinder Mohan Singh stepped down.
On the other hand, the shares of Bharti Airtel suffered the most losing 5.41 per cent to Rs 811.40 on fears of earning dilutions, after the company said its planing to buy a stake in South Africa's MTN.
{{/usCountry}}On the other hand, the shares of Bharti Airtel suffered the most losing 5.41 per cent to Rs 811.40 on fears of earning dilutions, after the company said its planing to buy a stake in South Africa's MTN.
{{/usCountry}}Sterlite, the biggest copper producer in India, shot up by 5.94 per cent to Rs 538.10 on gains in prices of metals traded on the London Metals Exchange.