Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS): Profit booking at higher levels pulled the equity markets lower on Tuesday.
Both the key indices ceded their initial gains to provisionally close the day's trade on a flat note. Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in healthcare, consumer durables and IT stocks.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended at 8,626.25 points -- up 0.55 points or 0.01 per cent.
In contrast, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 27,966.18 points, provisionally closed at 27,876.61 points (at 3.30 p.m.) -- down 53.60 points or 0.19 per cent, from its previous close at 27,930.21 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 28,029.80 points and a low of 27,845.63 points during the intra-day trade.
However, the BSE market breadth was slightly tilted in favour of the bulls -- with 1,464 advances and 1,454 declines.
On the special "Muhurat" trade session on Sunday, the benchmark indices had closed on a negative note due to caution ahead of key global events' risks, negative international cues and profit booking.
The barometer index had declined by 11.30 points or 0.04 per cent, while the NSE Nifty edged lower by 12.30 points or 0.14 per cent.