Sensex ends flat after hitting near 2-mth high

Quarterly earnings from blue-chips such as RIL later in the day, L&T on Monday and ITC on Thursday are also awaited for gauging the near-term direction

The Sensex ended flat on Friday after rising earlier to its highest intraday level in nearly two months, as HDFC fell on lower-than-expected June quarter earnings, while blue-chips such as Sun Pharma declined on profit-booking.

The benchmark stock indexes rose for a fourth week but traders are worried as foreign investors have remained net sellers for four sessions, totalling Rs 604 crore, despite the government's and central bank recent measures to shore up the rupee.

Quarterly earnings from blue-chips such as Reliance Industries later in the day, Larsen & Toubro on Monday and ITC on Thursday are also awaited for gauging the near-term direction.

"Going into next week, we have several important results followed by monetary policy meeting in end-July," said Sanjeev Zarbade, vice-president, private client group research, Kotak Securities.

The benchmark Sensex closed up 0.1 per cent, or 21.44 points, at 20,149.85, after earlier rising to its highest intraday level since May 21. It gained 0.95 per cent for the week.

The broader Nifty fell 0.15 per cent, or 8.85 points, to end at 6,029.20. It ended 0.33 per cent higher for the week, marking its fourth weekly gain.

Housing Development Finance Corporation, India's biggest mortgage lender, fell 3.1 per cent after it reported a 17 per cent rise in net profit for the April-June quarter, missing consensus estimates.