Sensex, Nifty end flat; metal shares cap losses

Benchmark indices closed flat today amid a rally in metal shares. Sensex ended 28 points lower at 54,525 and Nifty gained 2 points to 16,282.

On Sensex, Tata Steel was the top gainer rising 3.86%, followed by NTPC, PowerGrid, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finserv.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were among the top losers falling up to 1.84%.

"Following continued selling in broader markets and weak Asian and US peers, Indian indices shed its early gains. However, late recovery helped the market to close the day on a flat note," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Measures taken by BSE to curb excessive price movement in smaller stocks triggered selling pressure in small and mid-cap stocks, while clarity from BSE on limiting its restrictions to penny stocks gave some relief, he noted.

"Mainstream sectors succumbed to profit-booking while metal, energy and infra sectors traded against the trend," Nair added.

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 17 ended in the red.

Market cap of BSE listed firms fell to Rs 236.74 lakh crore.

BSE midcap and  small indices fell 51 points and 216 points, respectiely. On a sectoral basis, metal shares were the top gainers with BSE metal index rising 711 points to 20,969.

Pharma shares were the top losers with the BSE healthcare index slipping 347 points to 26,017. Market breadth was negative with 1,063 shares ending higher against 2,142 stocks closing lower on BSE.  

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended with gains, while Seoul was in the red.

Equities in Europe were in the green in afternoon trade.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.16 per cent to $70.74 per barrel.