The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended on a flat note as gains in Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys were offset with losses in HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC and ICICI Bank. The benchmarks opened lower and extended losses wherein the Sensex fell as much as 485 points at the day’s lowest level and Nifty 50 index briefly slumped below important psychological level of 13,000. However, buying in energy, metal and oil & gas shares helped benchmarks erase intraday losses.
The Sensex ended 37 points lower at 44,618 while Nifty 50 index rose 5 points to settle at 13,114.
“Nifty started the day on a flat note and consolidated within a narrow range till noon. However, it then witnessed sharp sell-off from 13,100 and sneaked below the 13,000 mark. But a late surge in the few index heavyweights led to a recovery in the end and Nifty managed to recover all intraday losses to close above 13,100,” Ruchit Jain, senior analyst – technical and derivatives at Angel Broking said in a statement.
Seven of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by Nifty Realty index’s 3 per cent gain. Nifty Metal, Auto, IT and Energy indexes also rose 0.7-2.5 per cent each.
On the other hand, Nifty Bank, Financial Services and Private Bank indexes fell over 1 per cent each.
Mid- and small-cap shares ended on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.5 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended on a flat note.
GAIL India was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 5 per cent to close at Rs 116. ONGC, Asian Paints, Coal India, Titan, Adani Ports, SBI Life, Tata Steel, Indian Oil, JSW Steel and Bajaj Auto were also among the gainers.
On the flipside, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Shree Cements, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life, Britannia Industries and State Bank of India were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,719 shares ended higher while 1,202 closed lower on the BSE.