It was an extremely volatile session amid weak European indices and US markets futures. The benchmark indices ended flat in today's session after trading range bound throughout the day.

SBI, DLF, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, L&T, Maruti, SAIL, Reliance Infrastructure, Unitech, Sterlite Industries, Tata Motors and HDFC were supporting the markets. On the other hand, ONGC, Wipro, Idea, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Hero Honda, Satyam and BHEL dragged.

The Sensex closed at 8,747.43 up 8.19 points or 0.09% over its previous close, after swinging 253.4 points in an intraday high of 8,854.81 and low of 8,601.41. The 50-share NSE Nifty swung 81.7 points between a high/low of 2693.65 and 2611.95 respectively. It fell just 0.05% or 1.35 points to 2656.45.

However, some buying was seen in broader indices, due to which market breadth was positive. About 1,431 shares advanced while 1,324 shares declined. Nearly 443 shares remained unchanged.

BSE Midcap Index rose 25.26 or 0.9% to 2,830.59 and Small Cap Index gained 12.69 points or 0.39% to 3,265.10. NSE Midcap 50 closed with a gain of 1.24% at 1152.

The BSE Metal Index outperformed other indices; surged 146.14 points or 3.39% to 4,451.04. Tata Steel jumped 10.80% on strong second quarter numbers. JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, SAIL and Sterlite Industries gained 1.3-4.5%.

Real estate stocks also witnessed buying interest. DLF rose 5.44% and Unitech went up 1.75%. Realty Index rose 50.42 points or 3.34% to 1,559.69.

Bankex gained 110.74 points or 2.5% at 4,547.01. SBI, PNB and ICICI Bank surged 3.4-5.5%. However, HDFC Bank lost 0.40%.

Capital Goods Index was up 65.09 points or 1.08% to 6,086.58, as L&T gained 1.61%. Punj Lloyd rose 6.68%. However, BHEL fell 0.34%.

Auto stocks like Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors shot up 3.7-7%. Index went up 18.36 points or 0.85% to 2,173.11. However, M&M, Hero Honda and Bharat Forge fell 2-2.8%.

Power Index rose 8.42 points or 0.53% to 1,586.05. CESC, GMR Infra, Reliance Infra, Power Grid Corp, Tata Power and Suzlon Energy were gainers. However, Reliance Power and NTPC lost ground.

However, IT Index plunged 76.19 points or 3.08% to 2,400.09. HCL Tech, Infosys and Wipro tumbled over 4%. Satyam fell 1.27%.

Telecom stocks like Idea Cellular, Reliance Communication, Bharti Airtel and Tata Communication lost 0.5-3.34%.

Selling was also seen in oil & gas stocks. ONGC was down 1.76% and Reliance Industries fell 0.48%. BSE Oil & Gas Index fell 29.96 points or 0.56% to 5,367.91.

Healthcare Index slipped 10.12 points or 0.36% to 2,823.25. Aurobindo Pharma, Glenmark, Sun Pharma and Cipla were losers.

FMCG Index closed down by just 2.11 points at 1,901.60. United Breweries, Nestle, ITC, Marico and HUL lost ground.

Among the midcap stocks, LIC Housing Finance surged 21.5%. Anant Raj Inds, IVRCL Infrastructure, GMDC and HCC gained 8-11%

In the small cap space, Force Motors, Nirlon, Astra Microwave, Piramal Glass and Ion Exchange rose 12-20%.

Total traded turnover for the day stood at Rs 44,847.54 crore. This includes Rs 8,286.23 crore from NSE cash segment, Rs 33,606.23 crore from NSE F&O and the balance Rs 2,955.08 crore from BSE Cash segment.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mixed ahead of important economic data in the US. Shanghai jumped 4.01%. Hang Seng rose 1.36% and Nikkei gained 1.79%. Jakarta and Straits Times went up marginally. However, Taiwan fell 1.14% and Kospi lost 0.05%. Thailand reduced interest rates by 100 bps to 2.75%.

European markets were trading lower, as UK consumer confidence fell to weakest in at least four years.  FTSE 100 went down 40.08 points or 0.97% to 4,082.78, at 3:30 hours IST. CAC 40 fell 65.54 points or 2.08% to 3,087.36 and DAX plunged 98.76 points or 2.18% to 4,433.03.

US markets futures also lost ground. The Dow Jones Futures lost 134 points or 1.6% to 8,298 and the Nasdaq Futures was down 19.5 points or 1.7% to 1,113.

Today will see ;ots of data being announced in the US like job cut report, ADP employment report, Non-manufacturing Index data, Beige Book data, productivity & cost and petroleum status report.