The Sensex and the Nifty ended the session marginally in the red as traders remained cautious ahead of expiry of November month F&O contracts tomorrow.

At 3.30 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 4.76 points (0.02 per cent) at 20,420.26 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 1.75 points (0.03 per cent) at 6,057.35.

On the BSE, consumer durables, FMCG, auto and metal indices remained investors' favourite and were up 1.37 per cent, 1.03 per cent, 0.97 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, power, realty, IT and TECK succumbed to selling pressure and were down 0.88 per cent, 0.77 per cent, 0.66 per cent and 0.65 per cent, respectively.

Tata Motors, ITC, ONGC, Coal India and Dr Reddy's were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were Bharti Airtel, NTPC, SBI, SSLT and Wipro.

A report from India Forex Advisors said: “Going ahead, this week, India's September quarter GDP figures will be released on Friday and will be tracked closely by the market participants. Any improvement would be welcome news for the Government. Last quarter's (June) growth was 4.4 per cent. The country's economic growth hit a decade low of 5 per cent in the last fiscal on account of a poor performance in the farm, manufacturing and mining sectors. This week's US economic reports have not clarified the outlook for monetary policy so far. The housing market is recovering but consumer confidence remains weak. According to the Conference Board, consumer sentiment dropped for the third consecutive month to its lowest level since April.”

European stocks were up as a report predicted an increase in German consumer confidence and investors awaited data on US durable goods order. Asian shares were down.

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