Mumbai : In a session that was marked by fluctuations, the benchmark Sensex ended almost unchanged as it closed in the green for the third consecutive day amid foreign inflows and rising global indices. But investors were decidedly cautious as the valuation of several stocks appeared stretched in view of the recent rally. They were seen trimming their exposure at existing higher levels, pulling the key indices down from their day’s highs. Buying activity gathered steam at the outset on positive economic data as industrial production expanded at 1.2 per cent in May after a revised reading of -1.3 per cent in April, mainly due to uptick in consumer durable output.
But the worry is retail inflation in June inched up to a 22-month high of 5.77 per cent that restricted the gains, dealers said. In a volatile trade, the BSE Sensex after opening higher moved up on the back of gains in blue-chips, but in the end, settled at 27,815.18, a measly gain of 7.04 points, or 0.03 per cent, reports PTI.
The gauge had gained 681.24 points in the previous two sessions on sustained capital inflows and extended rally in global markets on hopes that central banks will unleash more stimulus to minimise Brexit damage.
In contrast, the NSE Nifty-50 closed in the red with a fall of 1.55 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 8,519.50. In the 30-share Sensex universe, 13 added to their gains. Tata Steel stole the show with a gain of 4.47 per cent, followed by GAIL 3.09 per cent, ONGC 3.01 per cent, Coal India 2 per cent, Infosys 1.46 per cent and TCS 1.21 per cent. TCS is scheduled to report its earnings on Thursday. Power Grid, Lupin, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, M&M and HDFC Bank all went down by up to 2.85 per cent.
The metal index rose the most by climbing 1.83 per cent, followed by IT 0.96 per cent, technology 0.75 per cent, oil & gas 0.36 per cent and PSU 0.28 per cent.
