Sensex, Nifty End Nearly Flat After Volatile Session

Indian stock market benchmark indices ended Thursday's trading session on a nearly flat note, moving between gains and losses throughout the day. After witnessing a strong rally in recent sessions, investors opted to book profits in IT, FMCG and automobile stocks. However, buying interest in financial and real estate shares provided some support to the markets. Easing crude oil prices and continued foreign fund inflows also helped the benchmark indices hold on to marginal gains. The Sensex rose 31.61 points to close at 81,911.01, while the Nifty gained 44.30 points to settle at 25,299.35. The rupee stood at 94.04 against the US dollar.

Among the Sensex 30 stocks, Bajaj Finance, SBI, BEL, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank and Eternal were among the major gainers. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, TCS, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan ended in the red. In the international commodity market, Brent crude was trading at $91.85 per barrel, while gold was quoted at $3,947.63 per ounce. Investors remained cautious amid mixed sectoral trends, even as continued foreign fund inflows offered support to the domestic market.