Stock Market Fails To Hold Record Levels: Sensex, Nifty End Flat. Broader Indices Gain 1 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Tata Steel, TechM, Nestle, PowerGrid, Infosys were among the gainers. Asian Paints, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Airtel emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday closed flat after hitting all-time highs during intraday trade. The S&P BSE Sensex, which claimed a record high of 67,771 pared gains and ended at 67,519, up 52 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50, which went up till 20,168, settled at 20,103, up 33 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Tata Steel, TechM, Nestle, PowerGrid, Infosys were among the gainers. On the downside, Asian Paints, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Airtel, Tata Motors emerged losers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outran the frontline indices as they gained 1 per cent each.

On the sectoral front, FMCG index ended with marginal cut, while oil & gas, realty, metal, and PSU Bank gained 1 per cent each.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 246 points to close at 67,467. On the other hand, the Nifty50 settled at 20,070, up 77 points.

"The market traded range-bound after touching a new high as higher-than-expected US inflation and anticipation of hawkish ECB policy meetings later today impacted investor sentiment. Concern over the valuation and inflation trajectory due to increasing oil prices may navigate the market into a consolidation phase in the near term," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Wholesale price-based inflation remained in the negative territory for the fifth straight month in August at (-) 0.52 per cent, but prices of food articles and fuel showed an uptick.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended in the positive territory. European equities were trading mostly in the green. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.56 per cent to $92.39 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,631.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee pared initial gains to settle 2 paise lower at 83.03 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by a surge in crude oil prices and strong American currency overseas. However, a positive trend in domestic markets cushioned the downside for the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.98 against the US dollar and moved in a range of 82.93 and 83.04. The rupee finally settled at 83.03 (provisional) against the US dollar, down 2 paise from its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 83.01 against the US currency.