Earning concerns limit gains; Nifty up 12 points

Bolstered by strong overseas sentiment, trading got off to a firm start with aggressive buying in beaten down counters and other frontline stocks.

However, the market immediately encountered volatility and came off from day's high on profit booking. It remained range-bound and choppy throughout the session before regaining some strength towards the close.

"Investors seem to be cherry picking stocks and reluctant to make fresh commitments ahead of F&O expiry and RBI policy event," traders said.

FMCG, infra, pharma, auto and bank stocks attracted good buying interest, while metal, oil & gas and technology shares remained under selling pressure.

The 50-share Nifty hovered between a high of 5,684.25 and a low of 5,633.90 before ending at 5,660.25, showing a marginal gain of 12.25 points, or 0.22 per cent, over last close.

Lupin, Tata Power, Cairn, Ranbaxy, L&T, PNB, HDFC, JP Associates, Bharti Airtel and Grasim were among the top Nifty gainers. The laggards included DLF, Ambuja Cement, Gail, ACC, Reliance, Sun Pharma, TCS, HCL-Tech, Tata Steel and SBIN.

The turnover in cash segment declined to Rs 10,452.68 crore from Rs 10,738.91 crore yesterday. Overall, 6,814.77 lakh ares changed hands in 52,89,761 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 64,15,441 crore.