Markets end flat on lacklustre global cues; RBI board meet in focus

Equities finished with modest gains after a see-saw session Friday as investors remained on the sidelines amid a crucial central board meeting of the Reserve Bank.

Asian markets skidded as concerns over global growth and the protracted US-China trade dispute sapped risk appetite.

The BSE Sensex ticked higher by 33.29 points, or 0.09 per cent, to end at 35,962.93 in choppy trade. The broader NSE Nifty rose 13.90 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 10,805.45. This is the fourth straight session of gain for the benchmarks.

The RBI board meeting got underway Friday morning to discuss contentious issues, including a new economic capital framework (ECF) for the central bank and relaxation in the prompt corrective action norms for at least some state-run banks.

This is the first board meet chaired by the newly-appointed Shaktikanta Das, who took over as the 25th RBI Governor Wednesday.

Among sectoral indices, telecom led the chart, spurting 3.08 per cent, followed by oil and gas.

However, finance, healthcare, industrials, consumer durables and capital goods declined up to 0.81 per cent.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Bharti Airtel, Yes Bank, ONGC, Coal India, NTPC, Infosys, Asian Paints, PowerGrid and ICICI Bank, rising up to 5.32 per cent.

The losers included Wipro (down 1.67 per cent), HDFC (1.65 per cent), L&T (0.79 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (0.71 per cent).

The rupee, meanwhile, fell 14 paise to 71.82 against the US dollar in intra-day trade.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 675.14 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were sellers to the tune of Rs 51.86 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Brent crude oil futures were trading 0.93 per cent lower at USD 60.87 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea's Kospi fell 1.25 per cent, Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.02 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.62 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.53 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX fell 1.46 per cent and Paris' CAC 40 shed 1.21 per cent in their early deals. London's FTSE too slipped 1.13 per cent.