Markets end flat in highly volatile trade as investors turn cautious of US-Russia talks

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a highly volatile trade on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of the US-Russia talks on August 15.

Extending gains to the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 57.75 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 80,597.66.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 11.95 points or 0.05 per cent to 24,631.30.

Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Infosys, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the major gainers.

However, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

The Trump-Putin meeting could have significant implications for energy markets, potentially leading to an easing of sanctions against Moscow.

The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.59 per cent and midcap index dipped 0.18 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables climbed 0.82 per cent, while BSE Focused IT (0.45 per cent), teck (0.39 per cent), IT (0.38 per cent), financial services (0.26 per cent), bankex (0.23 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.13 per cent) also advanced.

Metal dropped the most by 1.40 per cent, followed by oil & gas (1.18 per cent), commodities (0.73 per cent), FMCG (0.57 per cent), power (0.55 per cent) and industrials (0.53 per cent).

Rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day on a negative note, lower by 12 paise at 87.59 against the US dollar on Thursday, as it came under pressure due to continued dollar demand from importers.