The Sensex ended the day higher by 21 points, while the Nifty gained marginally by 4 points. Among the Nifty stocks that saw gains were the defensive stocks from the pharma sector like Ranbaxy Laboratories and Cipla, apart from Grasim and Kotak Mahindra,

Other stocks that gained in trade were HDFC, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries. Among the stocks that lost ground in trade were Jindal Steel, Axis Bank and Sterlite Industries. Cairn India dropped after reports that Cairn UK will sell 15.3 crore shares in the company.

Shares associated with the power surged today after the government cleared a re-structuring exercise in the state electricity boards. Power equipment maker BHEL closed 2% higher, while other gainers from the sector included NHPC and JSW Energy.

Meanwhile, markets in Europe were trading in the red with the German DAX, French CAC and the UK's FTSE all trading in the red.

Asian markets closed mixed with the Korean Kospi and the Straits Times ending with losses, while the Hang Sang and the Japanese Nikkei closed higher.

Markets are expected to remain rangebound in the absence of any major triggers. A thrust on further reforms is unlikely to enthuse the markets too much given that these have now been discounted by the markets.

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