Sensex, Nifty end flat amid volatile trade

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note on Tuesday amid a lacklustre trade, as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines in the absence of any fresh trigger.

Besides, a weak trend in European markets also impacted investors' sentiment, according to traders.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rises 1.59 points to close flat at 81,510.05.

During the day, it climbed 217.88 points or 0.27 per cent to hit an intraday high of 81,726.34.

The NSE Nifty fell 8.95 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 24,610.05.

In the intraday trade, it slipped 108.35 points or 0.44 per cent to hit a low of 24,510.65.

"The domestic market concluded on a flat note, a rebound from the lows suggests buy-on-dip strategy... The broader market outperformed, maintaining its positive trend led by mid & small-caps.

The IT index reached new highs in anticipation of improvement in US IT spending.

"Upcoming inflation data from the US and India are critical for insights into potential future rate cuts.

"India's CPI will serve as a key indicator of underlying earnings growth, which has been downgraded in H1FY25," Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

From the 30-share pack, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Infosys, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Mahindra &h Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan were among the gainers.

Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul settled higher, while Hong Kong ended in negative territory.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.17 per cent to $72.02 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 724.27 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,648.07 crore, according to exchange data.