CLOSING BELL: Sensex, Nifty break two-day winning streak, end with minor losses; Titan, Maruti among top gainers

Indian frontline indices S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty50 ended flat on Wednesday trading in a 100-point range for the entire session with bulls and bears evenly matched. While Sensex ended at 60,910.28, down by 17 points or 0.03 per cent, the broader market Nifty50 finished at 18,122.50, down just 9.80 points or 0.05 per cent. Banking gauge Nifty Bank closed 31 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 42,827.70.

India VIX, a measure of volatility in Nifty was up 0.68 per cent at 15.40.

In the 50-stock Nifty, 19 stocks advanced against 31 declines. The top gainers were Power Grid, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, UPL and Maruti Suzuki while top losers were Bharti Airtel, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank and Hindalco Industries.

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Out of 15 Nifty sectoral indices, 9 ended in the red. Pharma and healthcare stocks were worst performers today with declines seen in banks, IT and metal stocks. The best performing indices were Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and auto stocks.

There was stock specific action in broader markets as well, with selling pressure playing strongly ahead of the monthly expiry on Thursday. In the 100-stock Nifty Mid Cap 100, 42 advanced, 56 declined and 2 remained unchanged. The top gainers were Adani Wilmar, Tata Teleservices Maharashtra and JSW Energy while top losers were Union Bank, Indian Bank and Bank of India. In the Nifty Small 100, 44 stocks advanced, 55 declined and 1 remained unchanged. The top gainers were Deepak Fertilizers, Lux Industries and GNFC while top losers were Maharashtra Bank, Brightcom Group and Amararaja Batteries.

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Out of 3,629 shares that were traded on BSE, 2,079 advanced, 1,399 declined while 151 remained unchanged. 71 stocks hit their 52-week highs while 35 hit their 52-week lows.