Sensex, Nifty end flat after choppy trade

FII selling nearing exhaustion provided comfort to the jittery Indian market, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower, while Shanghai settled in the green.European markets were trading lower in mid-session deals.The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.The undertone remains bearish due to weak global cues and persistent foreign fund outflows.

Benchmark indices ended on a flat note on Thursday as fag-end selling wiped out intra-day gains amid weak global trends.

The BSE benchmark Sensex slipped 8.03 points or 0.02 percent to settle at 53,018.94. During the day, it had gained 350.57 points or 0.66 percent to 53,377.54.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 18.85 points or 0.12 percent to close at 15,780.25.

Tech Mahindra was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack, dropping 2.09 percent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, and M&M.

In contrast, Axis Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, and Reliance Industries were among the prominent gainers, rising to 1.74 percent.

''Asian and European markets struggled to regain footing amid global recession fears, leading to a resurgent US dollar, which benefitted from safe-haven demand. FII selling nearing exhaustion provided comfort to the jittery Indian market,'' said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong ended lower, while Shanghai settled in the green.

European markets were trading lower in mid-session deals.

The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

''The undertone remains bearish due to weak global cues and persistent foreign fund outflows. There is so much uncertainty that traders don't want to risk placing huge bullish bets,'' said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined by 0.74 percent, and smallcap index dipped by 0.54 percent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the metal fell by 2.18 percent, followed by auto (1.25 percent), basic materials (1.20 percent), realty (1.17 percent), consumer discretionary goods & services (0.90 percent), IT (0.84 percent), teck (0.64 percent) and industrials (0.48 percent).

Finance, utilities, bank, and capital goods were among the gainers.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.04 percent to USD 116.2 per barrel.

The rupee rebounded from its all-time low to close 5 paise higher at 78.98 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 851.06 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.