Nifty rose just 3 points while Sensex was up 165 points at the time of the closing.
Gainers and losers
Among blue-chip stocks, HDFC Bank, TCS, Maruti, Infosys, and Reliance Industries were top gainers, rising to 2.3%. On the other hand, SBI, JSW Steel, ITC, NTPC, and Tata Motors closed in the red.
Stocks in news
Aditya Birla Capital shares closed 2.2% higher after the company said it would merge with its unit Aditya Birla Finance and turn into an operating NBFC from a holding company.
HIL surged 3% after the company acquired 100% equity of Crestia Polytech and 4 other entities for around Rs 265 crore on a cash-free and debt-free basis.
Sectors
Nifty Realty fell 3.7%, led by Swan Energy, Lodha, and DLF. Nifty PSU Bank, Media, Metal, Pharma, and Consumer durables also closed over 1% lower each. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 declined 1.4%, and Nifty Smallcap100 fell 2%.
Asian stocks
Global shares edged up ahead of U.S. inflation data that could confirm how soon the Federal might cut rates. The data is due today in the evening. The MSCI All-World index rose 0.1% due to gains on Wall Street overnight and a pickup in tech stocks in Asia.
Oil and rupee
Oil prices rose due to tension in the Middle East but gains were capped by bearish demand sentiment ahead of monthly reports from oil agencies. Brent futures were at $82.69 a barrel while U.S. crude contracts were at $78.33. The Indian rupee ended little changed and closed at 82.7675 against the US dollar.
