In a volatile trading session on Wednesday, the Indian stock market ended on a flat note, with the Nifty closing below the 25,500 mark.
At the close, the BSE Sensex was up 50.15 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 82,276.07, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 57.85 points, or 0.23 per cent, to settle at 25,482.50.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE MidCap index rising 0.67 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index advancing 0.48 per cent. The cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms increased to over Rs 467 lakh crore from Rs 465.6 lakh crore in the previous session.
Among sectoral indices, most ended in positive territory. Nifty Metal surged 2.70 per cent, Auto and Pharma gained 1.85 per cent each, while IT rose 1.57 per cent. On the downside, Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.39 per cent, FMCG fell 0.25 per cent, Realty slipped 0.19 per cent, and Oil and Gas edged down 0.18 per cent. Nifty Bank remained largely flat, dipping 0.01 per cent.
On the Nifty, around 34 stocks closed higher, led by HCL Technologies (up 2.91 per cent), Bajaj Auto (up 2.73 per cent), and Tata Steel (up 2.63 per cent). Major laggards included Reliance Industries (down 2.12 per cent), State Bank of India (down 1.90 per cent), and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 1.72 per cent).
Market breadth remained negative, with over 2,000 stocks advancing and more than 2,100 declining on the BSE.
During intraday trade, 114 stocks hit their 52-week highs, including NTPC, Tata Steel, and Bank of Baroda, while 323 stocks touched their 52-week lows, such as Suzlon Energy and IRFC.
Banking stocks remained under pressure, with AU Small Finance Bank falling up to 2 per cent and several other lenders ending lower.