The Sensex ended the day with gains of 15 points (provisional), while the Nifty lost 2 points in trade today. Among the top gainers in trade were the IT stocks which staged a spectacular rally following sharp drop in the rupee.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro led gainers in trade. ITC which witnessed sharp declines in trade saw buying interest at lower levels, and ended the day with gains. The company has the highest weightage in the Sensex and the Nifty.

Shares in HDFC plunged for a second day in a row, dropping as much as 4.5 per cent in trade. Dealers say that foreign funds have been pressing sales in the counter. Banking stocks were once again the under performers in trade and led declines with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and State Bank of India falling in trade.

One of the worst performing stocks in the Nifty was ONGC, which sold on worries that the company would have to bear additional fuel subsidies. The stock ended the day lower by 7 per cent lower.

The metals pack continued to see buying interest with Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Hindalco among the gainers.

Heavyweights, ITC and Reliance and managed to stay resilient in trade today, despite ITC falling as much as 3 per cent in early trade.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia ended the day with losses led by sharp declines in the Hang Sang and the Japanese Nikkei.