Late buying at select counters led to a partial recovery in the markets. The Sensex closed at 5,169, down 26 points. The Nifty shed five points to close at 1,626.

Reliance rebounded into positive zone due to renewed buying at the counter. The scrip closed at Rs 493, up Rs 4.

ITC was the major gainer among the Sensex stocks. The scrip gained 2.4% (Rs 24) to close at Rs 1,037. ONGC was up 1.7% (Rs 12) at Rs 730.

HLL lost 5% (Rs 6) to close at Rs 113.

Hindalco nose-dived from a high of Rs 1053 to close 1.6% lower at Rs 1,023.

HPCL, Maruti, MTNL, Infosys, Tata Power and Satyam were all down 2% each.