Sensex ends flat, Nifty manages to hold 10,700; ICICI Bank closes 7% higher

After witnessing a strong start to the week, the market on Tuesday ended on a flat note, with the Nifty managing to hold 10,700-mark. The Sensex, meanwhile, managed to end above 35,200-mark.

The day began on a higher note as the 30-share index gained around 100-odd points in the first hour of trade, while the Nifty advanced its gains to over 10,750-mark. But bulls could not get the momentum going further and the bears soon took over in the afternoon. Both indices turned red in the afternoon trade before a battle between bears and bulls ensured that the indices ended flat.

Among the broader markets, midcaps had a day of underperformance, falling around 0.14 percent on the index. Financial stocks were the top gainers, with the Bank Nifty rising around a percent. A rally in bond prices after Centre’s stance to purchase more bonds this year fuelled the surge in banks.

The Sensex ended up 8.18 points or 0.02% at 35216.32, while the Nifty closed higher by 2.30 points or 0.02% at 10717.80. The market breadth was negative as 1164 shares advanced, against a decline of 1506 shares, while 147 shares were unchanged.

Among stocks, ICICI Bank stole the limelight as the stock gained over 8 percent intraday and closed 7 percent higher. The bank, as such, reported 50 percent drop in its net profit for the March quarter, but analysts saw the results to be a quarter of all stressed assets being recognized.

PNB Housing Finance ended the day 8 percent lower after a report indicated that Carlyle was selling 4.8 percent stake in the firm for Rs 1,040 crore.

Shares of PC Jeweller fell 16 percent, but recovered from its lows of 27 percent intraday, as investors may have looked to book some profits from its 38 percent surge on Monday.

Granules India gained 2 percent intraday before falling a percent after the firm received USFDA nod for Methocarbamol tablets, which are used to treat muscle spasms.

Jubilant Foodworks ended the day 2 percent lower even as the company reported a March quarter net profit of Rs 68 crore. Its same store sales growth is at 26.5 percent.

Among global markets, indices in Europe were trading mildly higher as investors looked for cues from US-Iran nuclear developments. European Stoxx 600 moved up around 0.1 percent in the morning trade.

Meanwhile, Asian markets closed higher on Tuesday as oil prices marginally cooled off and the Street there too awaited cues from Iran nuclear accord. The Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.18 percent and the Topix was up by 0.37 percent.

In the precious metals space, gold prices softened by 0.11 percent to Rs 31,433 per 10 grams in futures trade today as participants trimmed positions tracking a weak trend overseas.

At Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in far-month August fell by Rs 35, or 0.11 percent to Rs 31,433 per ten grams in business turnover of 15 lots.