Sensex, Nifty End Flat; Reliance, Tata Steel Among Top Drags

NTPC was the top gainer, rising more than 3 per cent, while Reliance Industries fell nearly 2 per cent

Broader markets were mixed, with the Nifty Mid-cap 100 ending 0.4 per cent lower and the Small-cap 100 gauge rising 0.2 per cent. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, which opened on a choppy note, ended its volatile session flat on Thursday as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines due to rising Covid cases.

The BSE Sensex finally settled with a nominal loss of 12 points at 57,794 on the penultimate day of the year 2021. The NSE Nifty was down 10 points at a close of 17,204.

NTPC was the top gainer among the Sensex 30 shares. The stock rose more than 3 per cent to Rs 127 after the company announced its plan to hive-off up to 50 per cent stake in its newly formed renewable energy arm in the next fiscal year. IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, and Titan were the other prominent gainers.

Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling nearly 2 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, and SBI.

Gains in IT and financial stocks were offset by losses in oil & gas, auto and metal shares. Broader markets were mixed, with the Nifty Mid-cap 100 ending 0.4 per cent lower and the Small-cap 100 gauge rising 0.2 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with gains, while Seoul and Tokyo were in the red.

Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.7 per cent on Thursday, which left it with a modest gain of 4.6 per cent for the year and some way from a three-decade top reached in September.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.68 per cent to $78.69 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 975.23 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.