Mumbai, February 26 The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended almost flat after a volatile trading day on Thursday, pulled down by HDFC Bank and other major stocks.
Additionally, caution ahead of the US-Iran talks kept investors on the sidelines.
Despite morning gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped marginally by 27.46 points or 0.03 percent to close at 82,248.61. During the day, it reached a high of 82,579.16 and a low of 81,970.47, fluctuating by 608.69 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 14.05 points or 0.06 percent to end at 25,496.55.
From the Sensex pack, Trent, Eternal, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, and Axis Bank were among the biggest losers.
Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Maruti, and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
"The domestic market gave up its early gains amid mixed global cues and increased caution ahead of the US-Iran nuclear talks, as well as key data releases including US initial jobless claims and India's GDP print, which triggered profit-booking," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 5,118.57 crore.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi jumped 3.67 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 also ended in positive territory, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading mostly higher.
The US market ended higher on Wednesday.
"Indian equity markets ended largely unchanged, highlighting a clear tug-of-war between early optimism and cautious profit-booking. Positive global cues from technology and metals supported sentiment at the open, but gains gradually faded as investors chose to trim exposure at higher levels rather than chase momentum," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.95 percent to USD 70.18 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex ended 50.15 points or 0.06 percent higher at 82,276.07. The Nifty went up by 57.85 points or 0.23 percent to settle at 25,482.50.