Speculations weighed high on Indian stocks on Monday as the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex closed nearly flat through a volatile day of trading. The index closed 1.63 points or 0.01 per cent down from its previous close at 17,164.99.

Higher sell-off in the Asian market after anticipations that the Chinese government may take additional steps to cool down the economy forced the Sensex to start rolling down as soon as it opened. However, the 30-scrip index bounced from an intra-day low of 17,061.64 to day's high of 17,195.49.

The broad-based NSE Nifty too showed similar trends and closed 0.16 per cent down at 5,129.

IT stocks continued to make their investors smile as BSE IT index gained 1.37 per cent on a day when 10 out of 13 sector indices finished the day with losses. BSE PSU remained the biggest loser. The index dropped 1.38 per cent from its previous close.

Public sector mining giant NMDC remained one of the major disappointments of the day after the company fixed its FPO issue price at Rs. 300, lower limit of the price band it offered. The stock declined five per cent during the day.