Sensex, Nifty end choppy session flat; Airtel sinks 3%, HUL 2%, OMCs gain

Equity markets ended Wednesday's volatile trade with fractional losses after swinging between the red and green zones. 

For the most part of the session, the benchmark indices kept treading around the flatline as the Street awaited the release of retail inflation data on Thursday.  

The BSE Sensex closed 10 points lower at 60,106 after recouping 300 points from the day's low. The NSE Nifty index ended 18 points down at 17,896 after recovering from the session's low of 17,824. 

Across the two frontline indices, the top drags were Bharti Airtel, HUL, Nestle, Cipla, Divi's Labs, Apollo Hospitals, IndusInd Bank, Reliance, Titan and Bajaj Finserv, which shed 1-3 per cent. 

On the flip side, Hindalco, BPCL, Sun Pharma, Ultratech Cement, TCS, HDFC twins, Tata Motors, L&T and ICICI Bank were the top index gainers, up 0.6-3 per cent. 

Broader markets were also muted with the BSE Midcap closing 0.3 per cent down and the smallcap index ending slightly in green. 

Within sectors, the Nifty FMCG, Pharma, Auto and oil & gas indices exhibited the most weakness and ended 0.5-1 per cent down, while PSB, metal and banking pockets gained up to 0.7 per cent. 

Among stocks, Bharti Airtel was the top benchmark loser after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to 'Underweight'. Read to know why

Sun Pharma claimed the top winner spot on the Sensex with a gain of 1.7 per cent on launching an anti-cancer drug Palbociclib in India for patients with advanced breast cancer. 

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