Sensex, Nifty end flat amid late sell-off; IT, broader indices hold gains

Stock Market Highlights: The key benchmark indices ended on a flat note amid late volatility owing to the weekly Nifty F&O expiry on Thursday. The NSE Nifty hit a high of 18,135, but dipped into red and touched a low of 18,001 towards the fag end of the day. 

The Nifty 50 finally settled 20 points higher at 18,036. In the process, the Nifty has added 264 points in the last three straight trading sessions.

Also read: Half of Nifty 50 stocks yet to reclaim Budget peaks

The S&P BSE Sensex scaled a fresh calendar year high at 61,682 in morning deals led by strong gains in IT shares. However, the late sell-off, saw the BSE benchmark forfeit all its gains and slip into red to a low of 61,197 – down 485 points from the day’s high. The Sensex eventually ended 44 points higher at 61,320.

Tech Mahindra up over 5.5 per cent was the top gainer among the Sensex 30 pack. Nestle India, Tata Steel, NTPC and NTPC were the other major gainers, up over a per cent each. TCS hit a fresh 9-month high in trades today as IT stocks were in focus. READ MORE

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were few of the notable losers.

The broader markets outperformed, both, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices finished 0.9 per cent higher. The overall breadth too was positive, with nearly 1,900 shares settling higher as against near about 1,600 declining stocks on the BSE.

Also read: New tax norm to hurt insurers; stocks attractive for the long run: Analysts 

In the broader markets, shares of domestic oil explorers – ONGC and Oil India rallied over 5 per cent each after the government cut the windfall profit tax on domestically produced crude oil from Rs 5,050 per tonne to Rs 4,350 per tonne. READ MORE

Among other buzzing stocks, Bharat Dynamics soared nearly 13 per cent after the state-owned aerospace & defense company said that it entered into 10 MoUs with several foreign and Indian companies during the Aero India – 2023. READ MORE

Meanwhile, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) shed 4.5 per cent after 4 per cent of the company’s equity changed hands in a block deal. READ MORE