Mkts end flat after choppy trade; post weekly gains

Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended flat after choppy trade on Friday, tracking weak cues from global markets.

Participants also remained on the sidelines ahead of key macroeconomic data releases amid lack of fresh buying triggers, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex gyrated 543.96 points before closing 12.78 points or 0.02 per cent higher at its new closing record of 51,544.30. The broader NSE Nifty, however, slipped 10 points or 0.07 per cent to 15,163.30. During the week, the Sensex surged 812.67 points or 1.60 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 239.05 points or 1.60 per cent.

ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack on Friday, spurting 2.67 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Infosys, HDFC, SBI, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank On the other hand, ITC was the biggest laggard, tumbling 3.97 per cent, a day after the FMCG-to-tobacco major reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,587.20 crore for the December quarter, compared to Rs 4,047.87 crore in the year-ago period. Other losers included Sun Pharma, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Titan and NTPC, shedding up to 2.53 per cent.

"Market can undergo some consolidation after the sharp gains made post the reformist Union Budget. The broad undercurrent of the market may remain constructive especially on the small and midcaps. "But the sentiment of global market will play an important role in deciding the short-term trend which is getting mixed due to weakening European market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Sector-wise, BSE bankex, finance, IT, power and industrials rose up to 0.99 per cent, while telecom, metal, FMCG, consumer durables and oil and gas ended in the red. In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled flat. Elsewhere in Asia, most bourses remained closed for Lunar New Year holidays.