Equity benchmarks settle flat in choppy trade; Sensex rises 37 points, HDFC twins shine

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex ended with mild gains after a see-saw session on Friday, capping a week of volatility amid concerns over global growth and rate tightening by central banks.

A depreciating rupee and foreign fund outflows further crimped risk appetite, traders said.

The 30-share Sensex oscillated between gains and losses during the session before finally ending just 36.74 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 58,803.33. The NSE Nifty dipped 3.35 points or 0.02 per cent to end at 17,539.45.

HDFC was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 1.75 per cent, followed by ITC, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and SBI.

However, Maruti, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and Infosys were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.19 per cent.

During the holiday-shortened week, the Sensex dipped 30.54 points or 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty lost 19.45 points or 0.11 per cent.

The broader market ended on a mixed note on Friday, with the BSE smallcap gauge climbing 0.04 per cent and midcap index falling 0.35 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, capital goods jumped 1.13 per cent, industrials 0.87 per cent, bankex 0.40 per cent and FMCG 0.33 per cent.

Metal, energy, basic materials, oil & gas, realty were among the losers. Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 2.01 per cent to $94.22 per barrel.

The rupee declined by 31 paise to close at 79.87 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking Asian peers and strong dollar demand from importers. Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 2,290.31 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.