Tuesday, September 5 2006 17:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Despite sustained FII inflows, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark, Sensex, today (Sept 5, 2006) ended flat at 11,904.60 points in low volume as higher levels attracted profit-booking by investors.

After a promising start, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) dropped sharply to an intra-day low of 11,847.93 points but eventually recovered the losses and ended the day at 11,904.60 points against Monday's close of 11,914.21 points, a net loss of 9.61 points or 0.08 per cent.

The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty also moved irregularly before ending the day at 3,473.75 points, down by 3.10 points or 0.09 per cent from previous close of 3,476.85 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and private mutual funds were believed to be the prime buyers at lower levels, aiding the market to stage a smart recovery at the fag end, brokers said.

FIIs, which have been consistent net buyers during the last week, reported net investments of about Rs 534 crore in the Futures & Options (F&O) on September 4. They also pumped in about Rs 342 crore in cash on the same day, as per provisional numbers.

The Asian markets too witnessed narrowly-mixed trend. The Nikkie ended up by 27.89 points and the Kospi by 2.18 points while the Hang Seng closed lower by 75.08 points.

Meanwhile, shares of United Western Bank (UWB) attracted heavy buying interest prompted by proposals of takeover from prominent banks. Besides ICICI Bank and Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank and Andhra Bank too have submitted expression of interest to the Reserve Bank of India for amalgamation of UWB.