Bourses close flat amid profit booking in IT

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note on Wednesday as profit booking in IT and realty shares negated gains in metal and oil & gas stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 35.78 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 58,817.29 in a volatile session. As many as 17 of its components ended in the red while 13 advanced.

The broader NSE Nifty inched up 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent to close at 17,534.75.

The market remained range-bound for the most part of the session as investors kept their exposure low due to weak global cues, traders said.

Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.66 per cent, followed by NTPC, HCL Tech, Wipro, Asian Paints, Ultra Cement and SBI.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, L&T and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.

Asian markets slipped on Wednesday after weak inflation readings from China raised concerns over sluggish demand in China, with the focus now turning to key US inflation data to be released later in the day.

Markets traded in a narrow range with a negative bias for the most part of the trading session, as traders followed global direction and exhibited caution ahead of the key US inflation data.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge slipped 0.13 per cent and the smallcap index fell 0.10 per cent. Among the BSE sectoral indices, metal jumped 1.87 per cent, followed by capital goods (1.29 per cent), and basic material (0.87 per cent), among others.

However, IT declined 0.97 per cent, realty (0.79 per cent), oil & gas (0.17 per cent) and consumer durables (0.57 per cent).

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.05 per cent to $95.30 per barrel.

The rupee appreciated 38 paise to close at 79.25 against the US dollar on Wednesday.