9:00AM New York, 7:30PM Mumbai - Sensex kept its upwards charge bucking the regional and global trends.

Stock markets in India closed flat on Tuesday with the Bombay Stock Market benchmark index Sensex gaining 0.3% or 61 at 20,873.

Of the stocks traded on BSE, 539 shares advanced, 2,404 fell, 23 remained unchanged while.

Among the Sensex index stocks, 16 gained while 14 shares fell.

Turnover on the BSE stood at 11,580 crore rupees while revenue on the National Stock Exchange was at 25,435 crore rupees.

In the broader markets, CNX Nifty index of 50 stocks held up by 0.1% to close at 6,288.

Buying was visible in oil & gas, and information technology shares while selling was visible in metal, healthcare and real estate stocks.

Among the index share, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Satyam, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Communication were among the advancers with each gaining more than 1.8%.

Of the CNX 50 index stocks, Suzlon Energy, GlaxosmithKline, ONGC, Infosys Technologies and Wipro Ltd were the leading gainers with each gaining more than 1.4%.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday expressed concern that high economic growth over the years had not provided enough benefits to the rural poor.

He expressed a concern that not enough benefits were reaching to a large segment of population. The Planning Commission plans to focus on rural areas in the 11th 5-year plan. He predicted that India can achieve economic growth between 8% and 8.5% in the next five years.

Of the BSE shares Reliance Industries was up 1.05% to 3,047.25 rupees ICICI Bank fell 1.7% to 1,340.05 rupees and Reliance Natural Resources surged 7.2% to 244.15 rupees.

Tata Steel shed 4.2% to 866.95 rupees and Hindalco Industries lost 3.8% to 209 rupees.

Infosys advanced 1.6% to 1,665 rupees and. Wipro rose 1.2% to 489 rupees.

Bharat Heavy Electricals declined 0.6% to 2,494.3 rupees after the company signed a joint venture agreement with NTPC for engineering, procurement and construction business.

Cipla shed 1.3% to 209.15 rupees and Dr. Reddy''s Laboratories lost 1.4% to 702.6 rupees.

Tata Motors slipped 1.6% to 774.2 rupees and Maruti Suzuki India slid 2.4% to 939.65 rupees.


6:00AM New York, 6:00PM Hong Kong – Foreign exchange reserves rose to a record level in Hong Kong.

Stocks in Hong Kong reversed earlier gains in the session to close lower on lingering worries of a slowdown in the U.S.