Sensex, Nifty pare early gains to end flat; HDFC Bank, RIL tumble

Mumbai, Aug. 5 (PTI): Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty surrendered early gains to end flat on Wednesday as profit-booking emerged in market majors Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

After rallying 452 points during the day, the BSE Sensex slipped in the red to end 24.58 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 37,663.33.

The NSE Nifty inched up 6.40 points or 0.06 per cent to close at 11,101.65.

HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries were among the top laggards, tumbling over 1 per cent, as investors booked profits after their recent bull run.

PowerGrid, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Nestle India and HCL Tech too ended with losses.

On the other hand, Tata Steel rallied over 6 per cent, followed by Titan, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and M&M.

According to traders, despite positive cues from global markets and sustained foreign fund inflows, stock-specific action dictated domestic market movement during the day.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul settled with gains, while Tokyo closed lower.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in early deals.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.09 per cent to USD 45.36 per barrel. In the forex market, the rupee settled with gains of 10 paise at 74.94 against the US dollar.