The S&P BSE Sensex recovered by 16 points in late morning trade today on mild buying, mainly in consumer durable, IT, tech, healthcare, capital goods and banking counters, despite weakness in the global market.
IT stocks gained ahead of the two-day policy meeting in the United States beginning tomorrow.
Metal and mining stocks extended their recent losses as latest economic data showed that growth in China’s manufacturing-sector activity slowed to a three-month low.
The Sensex resumed steady at 20,714.26 and hovered in a range of 20,764.52 and 20,667.02 before quoting at 20,731.70 at 1045 hrs, showing a marginal gain of 16.12 points or 0.08 per cent from its last weekend’s level.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved up by 4.95 points or 0.08 per cent to 6,173.35 at 1045 hours.
Major gainers were Infosys (1.96 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.15 per cent), Larsen (0.99 per cent) and TCS (0.96 per cent) while losers were Jindal Steel (2.31 per cent), Hindalco (1.98 per cent), M&M (1.07 per cent) and Hero Motocorp (1.06 per cent).
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 432.02 crore last Friday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The government will unveil data on inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) for November, 2013 today.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce next Mid-Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on December 18, 2013.
Asian shares were trading lower ahead of the crucial US Federal Reserve meet.
Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia fell by 0.02 to 1.43 per cent.