But the 30-share Sensex rose by 141.52 points, or 0.41 per cent, to close at 34,297.47. The broader NSE Nifty gained 44.60- points, or 0.42 per cent, to end at 10,545.50 after touching a high of 10,618.10.
Despite a strong start to trade today, key benchmark indices retreated sharply from their higher levels following bouts of profit-taking amid fresh weakness in the rupee against the dollar.
The NSE Nifty settled the day 38.85 points or 0.37 per cent lower at 10,500.90 after shuttling between 10,590.55 and 10,456.65, intra-day.
Construction major L&T was the biggest gainer among the Sensex components, spurting 2.30 per cent, after the company said its board has approved a Rs 9,000-crore share buyback plan.
Investors have kept their eyes on US-China trade talks and are optimistic about a positive outcome.
Investor sentiments remained upbeat tracking global developments as the US, China geared up for trade talks due this week.
A declining rupee, elevated crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund outflows added to the gloom
Modelled loosely around the National Highway System of the US, he in 2001 launched the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South & East-West Corridor projects to build 4/6 lane highways between four top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar.
Muted quarterly earnings, mixed cues from global markets and unabated foreign fund outflows added to the volatility
Investors booked profits in range-bound trade, led by PSU, oil & gas, energy, infrastructure, telecom, realty, healthcare, bankex, FMCG, capital goods and power counters.
In the 1970s, when the detergent world stood on the cusp of a change, Indian consumers first learnt the difference between Sasti cheez aur acchi cheez (a cheap product and a good product) from the sparkling white saree-clad, Lalita ji.
Why Danone, Philips, and to an extent Nestl and P&G remain under stress in India is a subject perhaps worthy of a business school case study, says Shailesh Dobhal.
The BSE Sensex moved up 103 points to 35,319.35, while the wider NSE Nifty finished at 10,741.70, up 23.90 points.
India was the flavour of the year, at least in the FMCG sector, as multinationals hiked stakes in their subsidiaries lured by long term potential of the country, while homegrown executives made their way to top hierarchy of global firms in 2013.
IndusInd Bank was down nearly 1% even after it reported a 21% rise in its fourth-quarter profit
Companies in the FMCG space are increasing their focus on herbal and ayurvedic category in India
Axis Bank emerged as the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 6.62 per cent, followed by SBI at 5.88 per cent.
Reliance Industries, Infosys and Tata Motors were the top contributors
Strong gains in Vedanta Ltd, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki helped the index touch record levels.
Oil & gas, banking and pharma sector stocks stole the show
Food processing industry players are worried that this could have an impact on their overall investment plans.
Talks on with P&G, HUL, Patanjali, among others to push their products via 250,000 common centres
Players like UltraTech Cement more expensive than ITC and HUL; others catching up fast.
Ban on high-value currency sends advertising industry into a tailspin.
Age and experience not less relevant but firms are gradually moving towards younger leadership teams
The company has a network of 4,000 distributors, 10,000 stores and 100 mega marts.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty too cracked the 10,200-mark and hit a low of 10,108.55 before finishing 104.75 points, or 1.02 per cent down at 10,121.80.
Among the gainers, Sun Pharma topped by rising 3.03 per cent as the weak rupee tempted buyers to accumulate shares of pharma exporters.
Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 22 ended with losses while NTPC ended flat at Rs 127.30.
Broader market outperformed the benchmark indices with S&P BSE Midcap gaining over 1%
The opposition parties vehemently criticised the new 'one nation, one tax' system having four different rates instead of a single rate adopted in some countries including the UK and Singapore.
The B-school also witnessed new roles in the domain.
Sun Pharma was the best gainer among Sensex components, surging 6.91 per cent
In contrast, investors' wealth had surged by over Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) to Rs 70,44,431 crore (Rs 70,444.31 billion) in 2013.
Aviation companies were in focus with all the three airliners SpiceJet, InterGlobe Aviation and Jet Airways adding in the range of 2% to 3% on the BSE
Banking stocks felt the heat due to worries that the lending rate cuts will hit their bottom line
The NSE 50-share Nifty spurted 97.25 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 10,715.50
Metal stocks lose ground with Hindalco, Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite down 4-10%.
Broader markets underperformed indices with BSE Midcap down 0.43% while the Smallcap index fell 0.07%.
For the new millennium generation, slowly and at an accelerating pace, it is attractive to harbour a start-up ambition, says R Gopalakrishnan.
