Sensex ends flat after hitting fresh high, Nifty below 9650; ONGC top loser

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex pared most of its gains to end flat after logging its fresh high on Thursday as investors booked profits in recent outperformers, while negative opening in european markets also impacted sentiment.

The Sensex settled at 31,290, up 7 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 9,630, down 3 points. 

The benchmark indices had recorded smart gains in intraday trade as steps taken by the market regulator Sebi to attract more investments and tackle massive bad loans of banks boosted sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex had rallied as much as 239 to hit its all-time high of 31522.87, while the 50-share Nifty had risen as much as 65 points to 9698.85, 10 points away from its lifetime high of 9,709, hit on June 6.  

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices shed 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.  

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1,538 shares declined and 1,122 shares gained. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

"The Market had a good start but ended disruptively despite relaxed norms for takeover of stressed business and RBI's less hawkish minutes. This could be accounted for weak global cues and dilemma over short-term impact from GST implementation. However, we feel that this positive trend will be maintained given strong chance of rate cut in the near future,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Sectors and stocks 

Nifty Realty index (down 1.6%) was the leading sectoral loser, led by losses in Indiabulls Real Estate (down 10%), HDIL (down 2.7%), and Delta Corp (down 2%).

Indiabulls Real Estate  slipped 18.5% to Rs 173 on BSE in intra-day trade after the company said that its promoter group entity IBREL IBL Scheme Trust sold 33 million shares of the company for about Rs 663 crore.

Nifty Metal index lost over 1% with APL Apollo Tubes, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Vedanta losing between 1-2%. 

Nifty IT index was down 0.2% after Nasscom said software exports are expected to grow 7-8% in fiscal year 2018, on the back of increased opportunities in newer segments such as digital and engineering services.

"The guidance is broadly in line with the outlook given by the Industry players and hence holds no big surprise. We maintain our buy on Infosys, Tech Mahindra & HCL Tech," said brokerage Angel Broking. 

Banking stocks ended higher. The Nifty Bank index gained as much as 0.8% to hit a record high in intraday trade, but settled at 23,736, up 0.1%. 

Shares of Yes Bank and SBI were up 1.3% and 1%, making them the top gainers on the Nifty Bank Index.

IDFC Bank rose as much as 3.5%, its biggest intraday percentage gain in more than one month, after the RBI allowed foreign investors to resume buying in the company.

Auto stocks reversed gains. The Nifty Auto index settled in red after rising as much as 0.9%, its biggest intraday percentage gain in nearly two weeks.

Oil and gas companies fell, with IOC, the top loser on the Nifty index, down 3%, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp slipped as much as 1.6%.

Global markets

European stock markets fell for a third straight day on Thursday, as battered oil prices hovered near seven-month lows hit overnight on worries about a supply glut and falling demand.

Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 all slipped 0.3-0.4 percent as trading in Europe got under way. U.S. stock futures were also a touch weaker.

In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.6 percent. But Japan's Nikkei ended a touch lower as a stronger yen and a plunge in the shares of auto air bag-maker Takata Corp took a toll on sentiment.

Excitement after MSCI included mainland Chinese shares in its emerging market indexes this week further boosted China's stock market, driving the blue-chip CSI300 index to the highest level in 1-1/2 years.

(With inputs from Reuters)