The 30-share Sensex ended up 19 points at 19,920 after touching a high of 20,050 and a low of 19,783 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 3 points at 5,892 after touching a high of 5,938 and a low of 5,855.
The rupee was marginally down at Rs 62.62 to the dollar compared with previous close of Rs 62.60.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs 80.57 crore worth Indian shares on Monday, snapping their five-day buying streak, exchange data shows.
In Asia, most markets ended lower with Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite down over 0.6% each while Nikkei and Straits Times ended down 0.7-0.8% each.
European markets were trading with marginal gains ahead of survey of German business confidence and US housing data. CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 up 0.1-0.5% each.
Capital Goods index was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on the BSE up 1.4% amid short recovering at lower levels followed by Auto, Power, Consumer Durables.
However, Metal, IT and FMCG were among the top losers.
HDFC and L&T were among the top Sensex gainers on shortcovering after sharp sell off in the previous two sessions. HDFC ended 1.7% while L&T ended 2.1%.
Shares of automobiles companies are in demand in otherwise subdue market on renewed buying interest on expectations of higher demand during the upcoming festive season.
In the auto segment gainers include, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Mah & Mah.
IT majors were among the top losers after the rupee firmed up against the dollar. TCS, Infosys and Wipro ended down 0.1-1.3% each.
Bharti Airtel ended down 1.5%. Despite easing competition in the Indian wireless market, Bharti’s
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