Benchmarks end flat amid selloff in IT, banking stocks

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty pulled back from their all-time highs to settle on a flat note on Friday due to selloffs mainly in IT and banking counters amid lack of directional cues from global markets.

After surging to its new all-time high of 53,290.81 in early session, the BSE Sensex ended 18.79 points or 0.04 per cent lower at 53,140.06.

The broader NSE Nifty edged lower by 0.80 points or 0.01 per cent at 15,923.40 its first drop in five sessions. Intraday, the index soared to its lifetime high of 15,962.25 before climbing down.

On the Sensex chart, HCL Tech was the top loser, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, NTPC and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel,PowerGrid and Reliance were among the gainers.

Of the Sensex constituents, 16 shares logged losses and 14 gained.

Sectorally, BSE IT, teck, bankex and finance indices ended up to 0.99 per cent lower, while telecom, realty, metal and healthcare indices closed with gains.

In contrast with the benchmark, broader midcap and smallcap indices rose up to 0.45 per cent.

During the week, the Sensex rallied 753 points or 1.43 per cent, while the Nifty surged 233.60 points or 1.48 per cent.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.33 per cent to USD 73.71 per barrel.