Stock markets close flat in volatile trade amid losses in oil and gas & IT shares

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed almost unchanged in a volatile trade on Tuesday as gains in quick commerce and private banking shares were offset by losses in oil & gas and IT shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 13.53 points or 0.02 per cent down at 82,186.81. During the morning trade, it climbed 337.83 points or 0.41 per cent to 82,538.17 but lost momentum later.

The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 29.80 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 25,060.90.

Lack of clarity over the US-India trade deal ahead of the August 1 deadline and profit booking by FIIs hit the market sentiment, experts said.

Among Sensex firms, Eternal jumped the most by 10.56 per cent in a post-result rally. Food delivery and quick commerce firm Eternal, which owns the Zomato and Blinkit brands, on Monday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 25 crore for the June quarter, as continuing investments in quick commerce and going-out businesses weighed on its bottom line.

Titan rose by over 1 per cent while HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank extended gains after their quarterly results.

Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics, Maruti, ICICI Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the gainers.

However, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.62 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.17 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty dropped 1.01 per cent, followed by telecommunication (0.87 per cent), auto (0.78 per cent), IT (0.53 per cent) and teck (0.53 per cent). Consumer discretionary emerged as the only gainer.

FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 1,681.23 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,578.43 crore, according to exchange data.