The Sensex ended the day with a gain of 44 points (provisional), while the Nifty ended the day with a loss of 0.90 points. Among the top gainers in trade from the Nifty were Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, NTPC and State Bank of India.

The IT pack was the worst hit in trade with notable losers being Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and HCL Tech.

Banking stocks which have seen a sharp slump ever since the RBI declared its monetary policy, rallied in trade and ended the day higher, after losing substantial ground in the early part of trade. Gainers from the space were Canara Bank, Yes Bank, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda.

Bharat Forge, which reported numbers that were not in line with expectations ended the day with marginal losses.

Telecom stocks were in demand after the successful 2G auction. Bharti Airtel ended the day almost up three per cent, while Idea Cellular was up almost 8 per cent in trade.

Mid cap stocks also ended the day with gains. Divis Labs which reported a good set of results gained as much as 2 per cent, while Steel Authority of India ended the day with losses.

Real estate stocks were also in the limelight, with Unitech and Anant Raj gaining ground.

Meanwhile, markets across Asia were trading with losses led by an almost 4 per cent fall in the Japanese Nikkei. Other markets that saw deep cuts included the Hong Kong's Hang Sang and the Shanghai Composite.

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