MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note on Wednesday amid profit booking at higher levels. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 28.73 points or 0.05 per cent lower at 54,525.93, while the broader NSE Nifty inched up 2.15 points or 0.01 per cent to 16,282.25.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping around 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, PowerGrid, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finserv. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.
"Following continued selling in broader markets and weak Asian and US peers, Indian indices shed its early gains. However, late recovery helped the market to close the day on a flat note," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Measures taken by BSE to curb excessive price movement in smaller stocks triggered selling pressure in small and mid-cap stocks, while clarity from BSE on limiting its restrictions to penny stocks gave some relief, he noted. "Mainstream sectors succumbed to profit-booking while metal, energy and infra sectors traded against the trend," Nair added.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended with gains, while Seoul was in the red. Equities in Europe were in the green in afternoon trade. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.16 per cent to USD 70.74 per barrel.