Stock market live: Sensex, Nifty end flat after volatile trade as IT gains offset profit booking
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended almost unchanged on Thursday after a volatile session, as gains in IT stocks were offset by profit booking in heavyweight banking and financial shares.
Investor sentiment remained cautious amid geopolitical tensions in West Asia, fluctuating crude oil prices and weak trends across Asian markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex inched up 1.44 points to settle at 77,186.87. During the session, the index had climbed as much as 394.26 points (0.51%) to an intraday high of 77,579.69, before surrendering most of its gains in late trade. The NSE Nifty50 slipped 5.75 points, or 0.02%, to close at 24,072.75.
Technology stocks outperformed the broader market, helping benchmark indices recover from intraday lows. However, selling pressure in select blue-chip banking and financial stocks capped the upside.
Among the top Sensex gainers were InterGlobe Aviation, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tech Mahindra.
On the losing side, Eternal, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank were the biggest drags.