Sensex, Nifty End On Flat Note For Second Straight Session

The Indian equity benchmarks ended on a flat note for second straight session on Thursday as gains in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever and HCL Technologies were offset with losses in Bharti Airtel, Infosys, State Bank of India, ITC and Maruti Suzuki. The benchmarks traded in a rangebound fashion wherein the Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 16,683.70 and low of 16,603.40 because of mild volatility as futures and option contracts for August expired.

The Sensex rose 5 points to close at 55,949 and Nifty 50 index advanced 2 points to close at record high of 16,637.

Twelve of 19 sector gauges compiled by the BSE ended higher led by the S&P BSE Energy index’s 1 per cent gain, Power, Realty, Capital Goods, Industrials, and FMCG indices also rose between 0.4-0.9 per cent.

On the other hand, Telecom, Metal, Healthcare and Auto indexes ended lower.

Mid- and small-cap shares witnessed mild buying as S&P BSE MidCap and S&P SmallCap indexes rose 0.3 per cent each.

Britannia Industries was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 2.7 per cent to Rs 3,495. Tata Consumer Products, Bharat Petroleum, HDFC Life, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank also rose between 0.9-2.2 per cent.

On the flipside, Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India, Hindalco, Power Grid, NTPC, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,734 shares ended higher while 1,450 closed lower on the BSE.