The Sensex hit its highest level since May 23, 2008 as it vaulted to 16,820.02 this morning, and the Nifty, for its part, sailed past the magical 5000 mark for the first time since that date, as stocks opened on a buoyant note this morning on the back of some upbeat economic
data from the US and the resultant sharp gains in Asian markets.
However, stocks started drifting lower past noon as investors appeared keen on booking some profits after recent rallies. Heavy selling in Reliance Industries, the index heavyweight, contributed significantly to the market's fall from higher levels. There were a couple of rallies from lower levels, but the market never got the momentum back till the end of the session.

Asian markets ended higher today and the trend in European markets too was quite positive. US index futures trended higher, indicating a positive start for Wall Street. But movements back home remained quite listless with investors looking to exit counters at every small rise in prices.

The Sensex, which tumbled to 16,636.55 in intra-day trades, ended the session at 16,711.11 with a modest gain of 34.07 points or 0.2%, while the Nifty which dropped down to 4944.15, settled at 4965.55, netting a gain of 7.15 points or 0.14%.

With US economy showing great signs of revival, information technology stocks found good support today. Automobile and bank stocks were also seen attracting attention. Select capital goods stocks posted smart gains. Cement and telecom stocks too edged higher.

Realty, metal and power stocks found the going quite tough and not much buying was seen in FMCG and pharma stocks as well.

Reliance Industries ended lower by 4.45% at Rs 2086.32. The firm said during market hours that Petroleum Trust sold 1.5 crore equity shares of RIL through block deals on the bourses today.

Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, is the sole beneficiary of the Trust. The Trust will realize approximately Rs 3,188 crore, at an average price of about Rs 2125 per share. The shares are carried in the books at a cost of Rs 158 per share by the Trust. Reliance Industries is reportedly planning to acquire a petroleum asset overseas taking advantage of fallen valuations.

BPCL ended lower by around 5%. Unitech, Reliance Capital, Ranbaxy Laboratories, ABB, SAIL, Suzlon Energy, Cipla, GAIL India, Tata Steel, ITC, NTPC, Hero Honda, Reliance Infrastructure and Sun Pharmaceuticals also ended on a weak note.

ACC, Hindalco, Jaiprakash Associates, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki gained 3% - 3.75% today. Grasim Industries, Wipro, Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Communications, ONGC, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India also ended on a firm note.

Tata Power, HDFC, ICICI Bank and DLF posted modest gains. HCL Technologies spurted 5.7%. Idea Cellular and Nalco also closed with notable gains.

Due to hectic activity at the Reliance Industries counter, the volume of business was up sharply today. At Rs 24,159.70 crore, the turnover on the National Stock Exchange was up Rs 4,700 crore over the turnover the exchange had recorded in the previous session. Reliance Industries recorded a turnover over Rs 3,500 crore on NSE today.

The market breadth was negative at close. Out of 2688 stocks traded on BSE, 1574 stocks declined and 1223 stocks closed higher. 91 stocks ended flat.