FINAL TRADE: Sensex ends flat at 61,982, Nifty settles 19 points higher at 18,348

Stock market today: The S&P BSE Sensex ended flat at 61,982 levels, up 18 points on May 22, Tuesday, after witnessing a 281.51-point swing during the session. Bajaj Finserv (up nearly 2 per cent) was the top gainer on the index, followed by Tata Motors and Asian Paints - up over 1 per cent. NSE's Nifty gained 34 points to end the session at 18,348.

"During the day, the Nifty index exhibited a predominantly sideways movement, hovering around the 18,400 level. Despite the lack of significant fluctuations, market sentiment remained optimistic as Nifty managed to sustain its position above the support level of 18,300. However, a notable resistance was observed in 18,500. If the Nifty manages to break through this resistance decisively, it could potentially trigger a rally towards the 18,800 level," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.43 per cent to 26,454.28 and the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 29,903.15, up 0.11 per cent.

Among buzzing stocks, Kirloskar Industries ended over 7.5 per cent higher at Rs 2,724.20 on the BSE after the company released March quarter numbers and announced a 110 per cent dividend for fiscal 2022-23. Akzo Nobel India announced a dividend of Rs 40 per share for the financial year 2022-23 to its shareholders. The scrip ended at Rs 2,506.20, up 2.75 per cent on the BSE. These apart, Adani Group stocks traded with decent gains during the session. Valiant Organics rallied 16 per cent to Rs 550.25. It was the top gainer on the BSE. 

GLOBAL MARKETS

Markets were cautious on Tuesday, as the latest talks over the US debt ceiling offered something for optimists and pessimists, leaving European shares just shy of last week's 15-month top, and US benchmark yields at their highest in two months. Europe's broad STOXX 600 benchmark slipped 0.2 per cent, trading a little below Friday's 15-month intraday high, largely looking through activity data that showed euro zone business growth remained resilient if a touch softer than expected. US share futures were broadly flat, as per a Reuters report.