Mumbai

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed almost unchanged on Wednesday after a choppy session, as gains in PSU banks and automobile stocks were neutralised by selling pressure in IT shares.

In range-bound trading, the 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 40.28 points, or 0.05 per cent, to settle at 84,233.64. During the session, the index moved between a high of 84,487.34 and a low of 84,081.25.

The NSE Nifty edged up marginally by 18.70 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 25,953.85.

Among Sensex constituents, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Eternal, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Steel ended lower.

On the positive side, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki India, IndiGo, Trent, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Unilever and Bharat Electronics Ltd posted gains.

“After the sharp rally earlier this week driven by optimism over the US-India trade agreement, domestic equities appear to be entering a brief consolidation phase,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd.

He said market focus has shifted back to mixed third-quarter earnings, upcoming inflation data, and the finer details of the trade deal, which is said to be nearing completion.

Nair added that strength in auto and healthcare stocks reflected better-than-expected earnings outcomes, while IT stocks underperformed amid a global sell-off linked to volatility in artificial intelligence-related stocks. Broader markets also lagged, with midcap and smallcap indices ending modestly lower.

“At the global level, sentiment remained cautious due to weak US retail sales data and ongoing AI-related disruptions, keeping investors risk-averse ahead of key US employment numbers,” he said.

He further noted that domestic equities are beginning to benefit from improving foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows, which have turned positive and are expected to continue on the back of improved GDP growth prospects and moderation in market valuations.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index closed higher, while Japanese markets remained shut for National Foundation Day.

European markets were mostly trading lower in mid-session deals. US equities ended in the red on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.44 per cent to USD 69.78 per barrel.

According to exchange data, FIIs were net buyers of equities worth Rs 69.45 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 1,174.21 crore.

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On the previous session, the Sensex had gained 208.17 points to end at 84,273.92, while the Nifty rose 67.85 points to close at 25,935.15.