The Sensex ended up 84 points at 18,793 and the 50-share Nifty advanced 29 points to end at 5,705. Earlier in the day, the markets opened higher and the Sensex had touched an intra-day high of 18,885.
The European markets gave up early gains and turned negative on as persistent concerns over a slowdown in global growth and its impact on corporate earnings weighed on investor sentiment. CAC, DAX and FTSE 100 were down 0.2-0.5% each.
The Asian markets ended on a mixed note as concerns over global growth prospects, especially in the world's second-biggest economy China, and expected weak US corporate earnings.
The Shanghai Composite advanced 2% to close at 2,115 and Hang Seng advanced 0.5% to close at 20,937. While, Nikkei, Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted closed on a weak note, down 0.3-1% each.
Back home, uncertainty over the political scenario has surfaced once again. Now, the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati has said that she would decide tomorrow whether to support the incumbent UPA government or not.
She also said that her party may support government's decision to allow 51% foreign direct investment in multi brand retail only if it proves to be beneficial for farmers.
Among financials, private bankers were among the top gainers on hopes of reporting better net interest margins in the second quarter.
ICICI Bank gained 1.1 per cent while HDFC Bank ended up 0.8 per cent while SBI inched up 0.5 per cent.
Software shares gained amid a weakening rupee. Infosys ended up 1.9% at Rs 2,537 while TCS and Wipro ended with marginal gains.
Meanwhile, Larsen & Toubro was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks, up 2% to close at Rs 1,628.
Sun Pharma, Sterlite Industries, HUL, Cipla, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank and Tata Power also ended higher by 1-1.8% each.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel was the top Sensex loser, down 1.8% at Rs 265 after the empowered group of ministers imposed a one-time fee on incumbent operators prospectively for spectrum beyond 4.4 Mhz in GSM and 2.5
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