Stock Market: Indian Equity Benchmarks End Flat As Market Braces For Inflation Data

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paints, Infosys, Titan, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, and PowerGrid were among the major losers

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices gained 0.3 per cent and 0.36 per cent, respectively. 

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Amidst high volatility and anticipation over inflation data due today, The two equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note on Monday. After retreating sharply in early trades, indices recovered most of their losses.

The BSE Sensex shed 51 points (0.08 per cent) to close at 62,131, while Nifty gained 0.55 points (0.0 per cent) to end at 18,497. The indices hit intra-day lows of 61,676 and 18,346, respectively.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paints, Infosys, Titan, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, and PowerGrid were among the major losers. Tata Steel, Nestle India, Dr Reddy, Wipro, UltraTech Cement, and HDFC Bank were among the winners.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices gained 0.3 per cent and 0.36 per cent, respectively. 

Among sectoral indices, all the major sectoral indices excluding Nifty IT advanced, while the tech index also trimmed intraday losses. All the major sectoral indices declined, with Nifty IT falling the most at 1.7 per cent, before trimming the losses.

“A tepid start-off in the domestic market was flattened due to a recovery in banking, metals, and oil & gas, while continued selling in IT stocks weighed on the indices,” according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended lower. The Nikkei ended the day 0.21 per cent lower at 27,842.33, after hitting its highest level since December 2 on Friday. European shares also fell on Monday, as investors wait for interest rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank due this week.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.80 per cent to  $75.49 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 158.01 crore, according to exchange data.