Erasing gains equity indices end flat; banking stocks fall

Shedding all the gains made early in the day, the key Indian equity indices ended flat on Friday weighed down by heavy selling in banking, capital goods and healthcare stocks.

Although the market had opened on a positive note continuing the Thursday's bull run, with the BSE Sensex touching a fresh all-time high of 36,740 points in the morning session, the indices could not hold on to the gains.

At 3.30 p.m., the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) provisionally closed at 11,021.65 points -- lower by 1.55 points or 0.01 per cent -- from its previous close of 11,023.20 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensex on the BSE, which had opened at 36,635.14 points, closed at 36,541.63 points (3.30 p.m.) -- down 6.78 points or 0.02 per cent -- from its previous close of 36,548.412 points.

As mentioned, Sensex touched a record intra-day high of 36,740.07 points and a low of 36,501.61 points. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,824 declines and 813 advances.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Industries, Coal India and Asian Paints whereas ITC, Axis Bank, ONGC, State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank were the top losers.

On the NSE, Titan, BPCL and Bajaj Finance were the highest gainers while Zee Entertainment, UPL and Bharti Infratel lost the most.

--IANS

rrb/mr