Indian equity markets ended on a cautious note Thursday with a marginal gain, ahead of the weekly inflation data.

Auto and banking shares were in demand while capital goods and select metal stocks were under selling pressure.

The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened at 15,031.86 points, touched a high of 15,280.06 before closing at 15,117.25. It went up by 43.71 points or 0.29 percent compared to its closing figure Wednesday.

The S and amp;P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange, which opened at 4,515.25 points, closed at 4,523.85. It went up by 6.30 points or 0.14 percent from its previous close.

The BSE Midcap index, which closed at 5,881.60 points, went up by 26.18 points or 0.45 percent.

The BSE Smallcap index, which closed at 7,166.99 points, went up by 22.86 points or 0.32 percent.

The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 1,406 shares advanced, 1,284 declined and 95 maintained status quo.

Top gainers of the day included Sterlite Industries at Rs.587.95 up 4.43 percent, Tata Motors at Rs.426.70 up 4.10 percent and HDFC at Rs.2,395.80 up 3.37 percent.

Top losers of the day included BHEL at Rs.1,827.25 down 2.28 percent, Bharti Airtel at Rs.869.70 down 2.25 percent and Reliance Communication at Rs.446.50 down 1.78 percent

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