The markets seemed to be in a consolidation mode througout the day. The indices opened weak and recovered almost immediately.

But it was a tight range thereafter as participants refused to commit themselves ahead of the budget season.

The Sensex finally ended at 16286, stronger by 49 points and the Nifty closed at 4875, up 19 points. The mid-cap and small-cap indices, however, ended lower.

The top gainer on the Sensex was Sun Pharma [Get Quote], which strengthened by 2% at Rs 1571.

Realty shares recovered, after taking a hit on the previous day, on expectations of favourable measures in the upcoming Union Budget. DLF added 1.6% at Rs 289, while Ackruti and and Unitech added in the region of 1% each.

And metal stocks strengthened for the second day in a row, mirroring the gains on the London Metal Exchange. Sterlite added 1.5% at Rs 758, while Tata Steel [Get Quote] strengthened by 0.7% at Rs 576.

On the other hand, auto shares got into reverse gear on fears of a hike in excise duty in the Budget. Maruti [Get Quote] was the top loser on the BSE, weakening by 3.2% at Rs 1336, with its announcement of recalling 100,000 A-Star cars further denting the already weak sentiment on the counter. M&M shed 1.2% to Rs 980 and Tata Motors [Get Quote] lost 0.8% at RS 699.

The PSU sector ended soft, given the tepid response elicited by Rural Electrification Corporation in its follow-on public issue. REC itself ended marginally lower at Rs 212 as its FPO was subscribed by a mere 2 times on the last day.

Investors turned jittery on rail stocks on the eve of the railway budget. Extending their losses for the second day in a row, Kalindi Rail Nirman weakened by 4% at Rs 193, while Titagarh Wagons shed 1% at Rs 405.

And index heavyweight Reliance Industries [Get Quote] ended flat, with a negative bias, at Rs 974.

The market breadth was negative. Out of 2907 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 889 advancing stocks as against 1924 declines.