Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty settle the day flat, Maruti Suzuki shares up 3%

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed flat on Tuesday, in spite of losses were capped as some auto majors rallied after posting rise in April sales. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 2.78 points, or 0.01%, to 29,921.18, while the NSE Nifty closed 9.75 points, or 0.10%, to 9,313.80.

Ambuja Cements Ltd fell about 4.21%. Shares of most Indian auto makers, rose after they reported a jump in April vehicle sales on Monday. Maruti Suzuki Ltd gained 3% to a record high of Rs. 6,730, while Eicher Motors Ltd rose 2.61% to a record high of Rs. 26,747.90.

Oil refiners also rose on account of hikes in petrol and diesel prices. Bharat Petroleum Corporation gained 2.75%, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. advanced about 2.40%, and Indian Oil Corp. climbed nearly 1.87%.

The Bank stocks were on focus at the exchanges in the morning hours wherein Federal Bank was the splendor performer touching an intraday high of Rs 115.3 per share, up by 7.3 percent.