The Sensex opened the day higher on global cues. However, with weakness in realty shares, the index fell to a low of 17,455.
The Sensex attempted to recover and ended flat at 17,570 - up seven points. The Nifty ended up five points at 5,289.
Asian markets ended lower as investors worried that surging bond yields could stifle debt-ridden Italy's fund raising ability and throw the euro zone deeper into financial turmoil.
Hang Seng was flat at 19,678.
Nikkei slipped 1.3% to 8,656. Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted were also weak in trades. Meanwhile, France has announced new austerity measures designed to maintain the AAA credit rating.
European markets were in green. CAC and DAX rose 1% in opening trades to 3,135 and 5,984, respectively. FTSE added 0.7% to 5,553.
Meanwhile, the indirect tax collections during October declined by 2.5% mainly on account of drop in realisation from customs and central excise during the month.
Collections from customs dropped by as much as 11.6% in October to Rs 11,357 crore from Rs 12,849 crore in the same month last fiscal, Finance Ministry sources said.
However, Exports in the month of October rose an annual 10.8% to $19.9 billion, while imports for the month rose 21.7% to $39.5 billion, the trade secretary said on Tuesday, citing provisional data.
BSE consumer durables index remained the top gainer among sectoral indices and moved up 1% at 6,584. The oil & gas index recovered from its lows and ended up 0.2% at 9,044.
FMCG index gave up gains and ended unchanged at 4,183.
SBI and Tata Motors moved up 1-2%
Markets end on a flat note
Markets end in green as metals shine
Markets on firm ground, Sensex gains 200 points
Sensex recovers 250 points, ends flat
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