New Delhi, 16 July (H.S.): The domestic equity market ended on a flat note on Thursday after witnessing sharp fluctuations throughout the trading session. The benchmark indices opened in positive territory, but persistent tussles between buyers and sellers kept both the Sensex and the Nifty moving in and out of positive and negative territory. At the close, the Sensex ended with a marginal gain of 0.0018 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 0.02 per cent.

The BSE Sensex opened 202.99 points, or 0.26 per cent, higher at 77,388.42. Soon after the opening bell, sustained buying and selling pressure resulted in significant volatility. Supported by buying, the index climbed 394.26 points, or 0.51 per cent, to an intraday high of 77,579.69. However, renewed selling pressure dragged it down to an intraday low of 77,086.42, a decline of 99.01 points, or 0.13 per cent. The Sensex eventually settled 1.44 points higher at 77,186.87.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 63.60 points, or 0.26 per cent, higher at 24,142.10. The benchmark fluctuated throughout the session, rising to an intraday high of 24,186.50, up 108 points, or 0.45 per cent, before slipping to an intraday low of 24,050, down 28.50 points, or 0.19 per cent. After a day of volatile trading, the Nifty closed 5.75 points lower at 24,072.75.

Consumer Durables, Media, and Information Technology stocks witnessed strong buying interest during the session. The Automobile, FMCG, Pharmaceuticals, Capital Goods, and Oil & Gas indices also ended in positive territory. On the other hand, the Realty sector remained under sustained selling pressure throughout the day. Banking, Metal, and Public Sector Enterprise indices also closed lower.

The broader market remained under pressure as well. The Nifty Midcap Index declined 0.41 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap Index ended 0.10 per cent lower.

A total of 4,441 stocks were actively traded on the BSE, of which 2,012 advanced, 2,224 declined, and 205 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,980 stocks witnessed active trading, with 1,307 ending higher and 1,673 closing lower. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 15 advanced and 15 declined. Of the 50 Nifty stocks, 23 ended in the green, while 27 closed in the red.

Among the frontline gainers, InterGlobe Aviation surged 1.83 per cent, followed by Wipro (1.77 per cent), HCL Technologies (1.66 per cent), Bajaj Finance (1.60 per cent), and Maruti Suzuki (1.47 per cent).

On the losing side, Eternal declined 2.83 per cent, SBI Life Insurance fell 2.37 per cent, Bharat Electronics slipped 0.94 per cent, Shriram Finance lost 0.91 per cent, and HDFC Bank ended 0.88 per cent lower.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar