Mumbai | Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended almost flat in a choppy trade on Thursday, as investors stayed on the sidelines amid uncertainty in West Asia and relentless foreign fund outflows.
Caution also prevailed in the market ahead of the RBI's monetary policy decision on Friday, an expert said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex went up marginally by 13.84 points, or 0.02 per cent, to settle at 74,360.01. During the day, it hit a high of 74,544.24 and a low of 73,807.30, gyrating 736.94 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 10.95 points, or 0.05 per cent, to end at 23,416.55.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Titan, Eternal, ITC, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were among the major gainers.
Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,616.56 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
"Indian equities delivered a decent recovery today, overcoming a weak start to finish largely unchanged. The market opened under pressure as weak global cues, elevated crude oil prices, and persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment.
"However, the selling failed to sustain, with buyers stepping in near key support levels and helping benchmarks erase most of their intraday losses," Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.
Despite the recovery, sentiment remained cautious ahead of tomorrow's RBI monetary policy committee decision, he added.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.68 per cent to USD 96.17 per barrel.
"The market oscillated between gains and losses during the session, ultimately closing on a flat note, as persistent tensions in West Asia weighed on investor risk appetite. Despite this, the broader market continued to outperform following the recent correction, indicating underlying resilience in select segments," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the upcoming RBI policy decision and the release of GDP data, both of which are expected to offer greater clarity on the growth outlook, he added.
The BSE SmallCap Select index jumped 1.02 per cent, and the MidCap Select index climbed 0.40 per cent.
Among indices, Consumer Durables climbed 1.94 per cent, Capital Goods (1.01 per cent), Telecommunication (0.82 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (0.72 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.57 per cent) and Power (0.41 per cent).
Metal declined 0.85 per cent, Commodities (0.49 per cent), IT (0.48 per cent), MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (0.44 per cent) and Focused IT (0.02 per cent).
"Markets traded with a cautious tone on Thursday and ended largely unchanged on the weekly expiry day for the Sensex. Weak global cues and caution ahead of the MPC monetary policy announcement kept participants on the sidelines. Elevated crude oil prices and volatile global risk appetite further weighed on sentiment, although buying in select heavyweight stocks helped limit the downside," Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
According to Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, the Israel–Lebanon ceasefire improved hopes for a wider diplomatic breakthrough involving Iran, but the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the absence of tangible progress in negotiations kept investors in a wait-and-watch mode.
"The Nifty opened with a gap-down but gradually recovered through the session, managing to close marginally in positive territory," he said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading mostly higher.
US markets ended lower on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Sensex dropped 303.67 points, or 0.41 per cent, to settle at 74,346.17. The Nifty declined 77.95 points, or 0.33 per cent, to end at 23,405.60.
