Sensex ends flat in cautious trade, GDP print weighs

Benchmark Sensex remained range-bound in choppy trade today, ending a shade lower at 31,137.59 as investors preferred to stay light amid a drumbeat of grim macroeconomic data.
The 30-share index shed 8.21 points, or 0.03 per cent, to end at 31,137.59 after shuttling between 31,213.12 and 31,062.02.
The broader NSE Nifty too finished 5.15 points, or 0.05 per cent down at 9,616.10 after slipping below the 9,600-mark to touch a low of 9,589.90.
Sentiment was dented following a slew of disappointing macroeconomic data, brokers said.
India lost the tag of the fastest growing major economy to China in the March quarter with a GDP growth of 6.1 per cent, which pulled down the 2016-17 expansion to 7.1 per cent.

The growth of eight core sectors declined to 2.5 per cent in April, while manufacturing PMI slumped to a three-month low in May.

"Market may consolidate as a slow pace in economic growth at 6.1 per cent in Q4 FY17 and a slip in April eight core sector growth to 2.5 per cent has dampened investor sentiment.
"At close, the market covered some losses on expectation that RBI is likely to be less hawkish than it was in the previous policy on account of moderation in inflation and slow growth," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,048.93 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 939.54 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Asian markets ended mixed. Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.50 per cent, South Korea ended 0.12 per cent lower, while Japan's Nikkei gained 1.07 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose up 0.58 per cent.
European markets were higher as investors eyed oil prices and next week's UK elections.
In Europe, Paris CAC gained 0.66 per cent, Germany's Frankfurt DAX was up 0.50 per cent and London's FTSE rose 0.38 per cent.
Back home, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 0.48 per cent, while the Small-Cap index advanced 1.02 per cent. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
Among the sectoral indices, oil&gas tumbled 1.58 per cent, energy 1.10 per cent, metal 1.12 per cent, bankex 0.48 per cent, power 0.26 per cent and utilities 0.25 per cent.

On the other hand, FMCG gained 1.18 per cent, healthcare 1.17 per cent, capital goods 0.92 per cent, industrials 0.75 per cent and consumer durables 0.47 per cent.
In the 30-share Sensex pack, 14 ended with losses, while 16 rose.
Major laggards included ICICI Bank which slumped 1.92 per cent, followed by ONGC 1.81 per cent, Gail 1.77 per cent, Tata Steel 1.39 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.25 per cent, Maruti 0.99 per cent, Lupin 0.95 per cent, Axis Bank 0.91 per cent and Reliance 0.90 per cent.
Smart movers included Adani Ports which gained 3.20 per cent, HUL 2.68 per cent, L&T 1.82 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.42 per cent, ITC 0.87 per cent, Wipro 0.86 per cent, HDFC 0.79 per cent and Coal India 0.68 per cent.

The market breadth remained positive as 1,412 stocks ended higher, 1,267 finished in red while 179 ruled steady
The total turnover fell to Rs 3,385.87 crore from Rs 4,066.28 crore yesterday.