Stock Market: Sensex Pares Gains, Settles 33 Points Higher, Nifty At 16,683; Bank, Realty Drag

Stock update: IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the major losers

In the broader market, midcap and smallcap shares ended on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index inched 0.10 per cent higher, while the smallcap shed 0.75 per cent. Image: Getty

Source : Getty

New Delhi: Sensex and Nifty, the key equity benchmarks, on Thursday ended flat after the indices pared their gains during the fag end of the trading session. After starting the session on a robust note, the equity benchmarks gave up most the gains, mostly dragged by banking, pharma, and consumer goods stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 865 points from the day’s high to end at 55,702, up 33 points. The broader NSE Nifty50 shut shop at 16,683, up 5 points after hitting a high of 16,946.

On the BSE platform, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Wipro, ITC, HDFC, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers.

On the flip side, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the major losers.

In the broader market, midcap and smallcap shares ended on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index inched 0.10 per cent higher, while the smallcap shed 0.75 per cent.

On the NSE, five of the 15 sector gauges closed in the positive zone. Sectorwise, sub-indexes such as Nifty IT, Metal, and Auto outperformed the index by falling as much as 2.07 per cent, 0.62 per cent, and 0.42 per cent, respectively. Nifty PSU Bank, FMCG, and Pharma underperformed the index.

In the previous trading on Wednesday, the BSE tanked 1,306 points (2.29 per cent) to settle at 55,669, while the Nifty slumped 391 points (2.29 per cent) to finish at 16,677.

Meanwhile, in Asia market, Hong Kong settled lower. Shanghai was marginally higher. Markets in Japan and Korea were closed for holidays. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with gains in the afternoon session. In the US, bourses soared higher in the overnight trade on Wednesday.

The US Federal Reserve intensified its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its benchmark short-term interest rate by a half-percentage point on Wednesday.

"US equities rallied, recording the biggest one-day gain since 2020, after Federal Reserve comments suggested that the central bank is unlikely to consider a higher interest-rate hike of 75 basis points in the coming months," Mitul Shah, head of research at Reliance Securities told the PTI.

Brent crude, global oil benchmark, gained 0.27 per cent to $110.4 per barrel.

According to stock exchange data on Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) diluted stakes worth Rs 3,288.18 crore.