FINAL TRADE: Sensex pares gains after scaling Mt 66,000, ends 165 pts higher; Nifty settles at 19,414

Stock market today: After scaling new highs in the morning deals, the benchmark indices trimmed gains towards the end of the session on Thursday (July 13). At close, the S&P BSE Sensex stood at 65,558.89, up 165 points, or 0.25 per cent while the NSE's Nifty ended at 19,414, up 29 points, or 0.15 per cent. The headline indices declined as heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL), Maruti, and PowerGrid witnessed selling. Besides, hotter-than-expected domestic inflation kept investors cautious.

"On expiry day, Thursday, the benchmark indices faced selling pressure at higher levels. The Nifty closed 29 points higher, while the Sensex gained 165 points. The IT and Digital sectors performed well, while the PSU Bank index corrected sharply. Technically, the index reached a fresh all-time high but saw profit booking and formed a bearish candle. The market is currently non-directional, with 19,550 as the breakout level for bulls. Selling pressure may accelerate below 19,375, potentially retesting levels of 19300–19250 at Nifty," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Among individual stocks, Hindalco rose 2.44 per cent and was among the top Nifty 50 gainers on plans to sell a land asset in Mumbai. Patanjali Foods lost 5 per cent after its largest shareholder said it would sell up to 9 per cent of its stake to meet public shareholding rules.

On the global front, Asian and European markets advanced following overnight gains in Wall Street equities after the US consumer price index for June logged the smallest rise in over two years. 

The moderation in US inflation also outweighed concerns over hotter-than-expected domestic inflation and powered IT stocks despite Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) and HCLTech (HCLT.NS) flagging weakness in demand in their June quarter earnings commentary.

With inputs from Reuters