Markets end flat; Sensex tops 22,000 intra-day

Markets ended flat as gains in cyclicals helped offset losses in defensive sectors.

Markets ended flat amid range bound trade on Monday as gains in cyclicals helped offset losses in defensive sectors.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 15 points at 21,935 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 11 points at 6,537.

Earlier in the day, the Sensex's surged to all-time high of 22,023.98 points marking its third consecutive record high in as many sessions, while the Nifty hit a second consecutive milestone at 6,545.10 points.

However, the broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices with the BSE Mid-cap up 0.5% and the Small-cap index gaining 0.8% as investors turned to fundamentally sound mid-cap and small-caps.

The rupee is trading higher at 61.01 versus its close of 61.08 on Friday.

Asian stocks ended lower on Monday as investors booked profits after surprisingly weak Chinese trade data and concerns over the crisis in Ukraine. Data released over the weekend showed China's exports in February were lower than expected raising concerns that the world's second largest economy is still struggling. Nikkei, Shanghai Composite and Straits Times ended down 1-2.9% each while Straits Times ended 0.3% lower.

On the BSE, Capital Goods index was the top sectoral gainser which hit a 25-month high of 11,556 to end up 2.9% at 11,542. The BSE Oil and Gas index ended up 0.9% at 9,156 after hitting a 13-month high of 9,287 as sector heavyweights RIL and ONGC advanced. NSE's sectoral index, the Bank Nifty also hit a 3-month high to end at 12,108.

In the banking pack, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI ended up 1-3% each. Capital Goods shares were also in demand on value buying at lower levels. L&T ended up 3.3% after the company said it has won new orders worth Rs 2,935 crore across various business segments in February and March 2014. BHEL ended up 2-3% each.

Index heavyweight extended gains to end nearly 2% up at Rs 886 on talk that the price of domestic natural gas is set to double to around $8.4 a unit from April 1, 2014, with the government coming out with a notification on this by the month end. ONGC ended up 1.1%.

Auto shares also witnessed demand after SIAM said that the slowdown in the industry may be coming to an end and both passenger and commercial vehicles are expected to register positive sales growth in 2014-15. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and M&M ended up 2-4% each.

However, profit taking was seen in defensive sectors on the back of an appreciating rupee. IT majors Infosys and TCS ended down 1.8-3.7% each. ITC ended down 0.8% while pharma majors Sun Pharma, Dr Reddys Labs and Cipla ended down 1-3% each.

Among other shares, Ranbaxy Laboratories slipped 1.5% on reports that the company has recalled some batches of its generic version of cholesterol-lowering Lipitor drug in the US after a dosage mix-up was detected.

HCL Infosystems surged 20% to end at Rs 34.10 on back multiple bulk deals on the NSE and BSE.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals ended down 5.3% at Rs 2,510, extending its past four day’s fall, after the parent company GlaxoSmithKline plc said that it has successfully increased its stake in pharmaceuticals subsidiary in India and it will remain publicly-listed.

Market breadth ended strong with 1,458 gainers and 1,348 losers on the BSE.