Indian benchmark indices closed flat after a volatile session on Thursday, following record highs at the opening trade. At close, the Sensex increased by 33.40 points or 0.05 per cent to reach 74,119.39, while the Nifty gained 19.50 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 22,493.50. Among the shares, 2071 advanced, 1588 declined, and 111 remained unchanged.
Tata Steel, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Baja Finance and Bajaj Finserve were among the top gainers at the 30-share Sensex platform, while M&M, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Titan were among the top losers.
In terms of sectors, banking, oil and gas, auto, and realty ended in the red zone, while metal, capital goods, media, and FMCG saw gains of 1-2.5 per cent each in today's session.
Amid reports of a 0.8 per cent equity block deal, M&M shares experienced a 3.7 per cent decline. It is speculated that the conglomerate's promoter group entity, Prudential Management and Services (PMSL), may have divested a portion of its stake in the company.
The BSE midcap index added 0.3 per cent, and the smallcap index rose 0.7 per cent. During the week, both BSE Sensex and Nifty registered a 0.5 per cent increase.
The Indian rupee concluded the session stronger at Rs 82.78 per dollar, compared to its previous close of Rs 82.83.
The stock market will remain closed on March 8 in observance of Mahashivratri.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex and Nifty witnessed a significant rebound during the final hour of trading, primarily driven by a surge in banking and financial stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex, which had remained in negative territory for most of the day, closed 409 points higher at 74,086, the first time it surpassed the 74,000 mark. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty ended at 22,474, up by 118 points or 0.53 per cent. Both benchmarks achieved record highs during the session, with the BSE benchmark reaching 74,151 and the Nifty touching 22,497.