Volatile session ends flat

The Indian markets closed a volatile session on a flat note. The Sensex up 24 points and the Nifty up 9 points
Headlines for the day
SBI Q3 consolidated net profit at Rs4318.08 crore
Coal India Q3 consolidated net profit surges by 54%
Motherson Sumi Q3 net loss at Rs24.72 crore
SAIL Q3 net profit at Rs632 crore



Indian indices
It was a lacklustre session, with the Indian markets struggling for direction all throughout the day. Gains in metal, auto, consumer durables, banking and pharma stocks supported markets while losses in capital goods and technology stocks added pressure. Positive European also helped markets. Many results were out today, with the markets taking cues from them.
Sensex movement: The Sensex started the trade 13 points higher at 17762 as compared to its previous close of 17749. The index swung between gains and losses, hitting intraday low of 17666 in early afternoon trade and intraday high of 17850 in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex closed 24 points higher at 17773 and the Nifty rose 9 points to settle at 5390.
Market sentiment
The market breadth stood in favour of advances. Of the 2971 stocks traded on the BSE, 1496 (50.35%) rose, 1381 (46.48%) fell and 94 (3.16%) remained unchanged.
Viewing volumes
Industrial finance company - IFCI was traded the most, with over 1.31 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that, Suzlon Energy (1.01 crore shares), a real estate development company - HDIL (0.34 crore shares), a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group - Reliance Power (0.34 crore shares) and India's second largest developer - Unitech (0.33 crore shares).
Sectoral & stock screening
Among the 13 sectoral indices, eight stood in green. Top gainers - BSE Metal up by 1.01%, BSE Auto up by 0.84% and BSE CD up by 0.61%. Top losers - BSE CG down by 0.75%, BSE TECk down by 0.34% and BSE IT down by 0.26%.
Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- Indiabulls Financial Services gained by 14.87%, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers jumped 7.02% and Gitanjali Gems advanced by 5.75%. Top three losers were- Suzlon Energy dipped by 7.32%, Pantaloon Retail (India) slipped by 6.65% and Sun TV Network fell by 6.05%.
Global Indices:
The European stocks rose on Monday (February 13, 2012), after the Greek parliament approved measures needed to secure an international bailout and avoid a chaotic default that would dent market confidence in the euro zone.
The Asian stock markets rose on Monday after Greece approved a painful austerity bill in return for a second European bailout, but further gains may be difficult amid protests in Athens. However, Shanghai Composite stood in red.
The US stock index futures pointed to a higher open for equities on Wall Street on Monday.