Mumbai, February 11 – The benchmark stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, closed on a flat note in a volatile session on Wednesday, as gains in public sector banks and auto stocks were offset by losses in IT stocks.
In a range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex slipped by 40.28 points, or 0.05%, to close at 84,233.64. During the day, it reached a high of 84,487.34 and a low of 84,081.25.
The NSE Nifty edged up by 18.70 points, or 0.07%, to settle at 25,953.85.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
On the other hand, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki India, IndiGo, Trent, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharat Electronics Ltd were among the gainers.
"Domestic equities may enter a brief consolidation phase following this week's strong rally driven by the US-India trade deal. Market attention has shifted back to mixed Q3 results, upcoming monthly inflation data, and finer details of the trade agreement, which is reportedly nearing finalisation," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that strength in the auto and healthcare sectors reflects better-than-expected earnings, while IT underperformed amid a global selloff linked to AI-related volatility. Broader markets lagged, with Midcap and Smallcap indices posting modest declines.
"Globally, sentiment stayed cautious due to weak US retail sales and persistent AI-related disruptions, keeping investors risk-averse ahead of key US employment data.
"Meanwhile, domestic markets have begun to benefit from improving FII flows, which have turned positive and are expected to continue due to upside in GDP forecast and moderation in India's valuations," Nair said.
A total of 2,316 stocks declined, while 1,913 advanced and 154 remained unchanged on the BSE.
BSE MidCap Select Index rose by 0.18%, while SmallCap Select Index ended on a flat note.
Among sectoral indices, Information Technology declined the most by 1.74%, followed by IT by 1.73%, Services by 0.16%, Private Banks Index by 0.13%, FMCG and Industrials by 0.04% each.
On the other hand, Healthcare, Auto, PSU Bank, Oil & Gas, Realty, Utilities, Consumer Discretionary, Telecommunication, Metal and Consumer Durables were among the gainers.
"The Nifty extended its winning streak to a fourth consecutive session, eking out a modest 18-point gain to finish at 25,953. All sectoral indices closed positive except IT and private banks, with Healthcare, Auto, PSU Banks, and Pharma posting the strongest gains," Nandish Shah - Deputy Vice President, HDFC Securities, said.
The rupee slid by 12 paise to 90.70 against the US dollar amid rising crude and precious metal prices, fuelling importer dollar demand, he added.
"Indian equity benchmarks ended largely flat in a volatile session, with the Nifty rising marginally by 0.07%, amid mixed sectoral cues and ongoing profit booking in select pockets," Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
In the latest MSCI rejig, India's weight in the MSCI Standard Index remained unchanged at 14.1%, while the number of Indian companies in the index increased to 165 from 164.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended higher. Japanese markets were closed on account of National Foundation Day.
European markets were trading mostly lower in mid-session deals. The US equities market ended lower on Tuesday.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 1.44% to USD 69.78 per barrel.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 69.45 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors outpaced the FIIs, by acquiring stocks worth Rs 1,174.21 crore, according to exchange data.
On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed by 208.17 points to close at 84,273.92, while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 67.85 points to finish at 25,935.15.
