Stock Market: Sensex, Nifty End Flat Tracking Volatility. Realty Rises 4 Per Cent, Tata Motors Surge 5 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors was the lead gainer, up 5.37 per cent, followed by Wipro, PowerGrid, L&T, M&M, NTPC, TechM were among the gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday erased their gains in the last hour of trading as profit booking in financial and FMCG stocks weighed on the bourses. The domestic indices ended flat after Monday’s trading.  

The S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an intra-day high of 60,109, closed at 59,846, up 14 points (0.02 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 closed at 17,624, up 25 points (0.14 per cent). It touched 17,694 during intra-day trading.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors was the lead gainer, up 5.37 per cent, followed by Wipro, PowerGrid, L&T, M&M, NTPC, TechM were among the gainers. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, HUL, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries were the top laggards.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index rose 0.38 per cent, while the BSE SmallCap index up 0.16 per cent.

Sectorwise, the Nifty Private, PSU Bank, and FMCF indicies fell up to 0.6 per cent. On the flipside, the Nifty Realty index jumped over 4 per cent, rallying over 7 per cent in two days.

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex swung 430 points during the day before closing at 59,833, up 144 points (0.24 per cent). On the other hand, NSE Nifty50, too, settled near 17,600-mark at 17,599, up 42 points (0.24 per cent).

Markets were closed on Friday on account of Good Friday.

"The positive quarterly business updates from auto and real estate firms caused strong movements in their respective sectors, but the overall mood was slightly dampened by solid US job data, which raised fears of further rate hikes by the Fed. The release of inflation data in India and the US, along with the FOMC minutes, have now become crucial in determining the market trend," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.06 per cent to $85.19 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought equities worth Rs 475.81 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 5 paise to settle at 81.97 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a weak American currency in the overseas market. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.90 against the US currency and finally closed at 81.97 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 5 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched a high of 81.78 and a low of 81.98 against the dollar. On Thursday, the rupee closed at 82.02 against the US currency. On April 7, equity and forex markets were closed on account of Good Friday. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02 per cent to 102.06.