Profit booking dents equity indices, Sensex closes flat (Roundup)
Mumbai : The key equity indices on Friday closed trade on a flat-to-positive note, as caution ahead of the macro-economic data release as well as profit booking subdued investors' sentiments.
In the intra-day trade, the two key indices -- S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- reversed their initial gains to slip into the red as investors shifted focus to the macro-economic data announcement.
Sector-wise, banking, oil and gas and telecom stocks witnessed selling pressure on the BSE. In contrast, IT, realty and healthcare stocks outperformed the benchmark index, gaining 1-2 per cent.
"Stocks in India oscillated between the positive and negative zones on mixed news flows and profit booking after the recent leg-up kept the emergence of a strong trend at bay," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Index-wise, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 23.89 points up or 0.07 per cent higher at 36,194.30 points, from its previous close of 36,170.41 points. It touched an intra-day high of 36,389.22 and a low of 36,082.97.
The NSE Nifty50 gained 22.05 points or 0.20 per cent to finish the session at 10,880.75 points.
In terms of crude oil, prices remained subdued at $58.81 per barrel, while the Indian rupee strengthened by 25 paise to Rs 69.59 per US dollar from its previous close of 69.84.
"Market ended on a positive note after witnessing a roller coaster movement ahead of G20 meet and expectation of oil production cut in the upcoming OPEC meet," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Investment-wise, the provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 332.62 crore on Friday, while the domestic institutional investors bought Rs 1,489.65-crore shares.
Top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank, up 5.73 per cent at Rs 169.65; Wipro, up 3.14 per cent at Rs 324.85; Mahindra and Mahindra, up 2.21 per cent at Rs 790.20; Sun Pharma, up 1.84 per cent at Rs 492.30; and Kotak Mahindra Bank, up 1.83 per cent at Rs 1,232.35 per share.
Top laggards were Tata Motors, down 3.02 per cent at Rs 171.95; Tata Motors (DVR), down 2.24 per cent at Rs 93.95; ICICI Bank, down 2 per cent at Rs 355; IndusInd Bank, down 1.70 per cent at Rs 1,631.55; and Vedanta, down 1.66 per cent at Rs 195.80 per share.
