Mumbai, Feb. 26 -- The key equity benchmarks ended in sideways trend, as market participants monitored Prime Minster Narendra Modi's visit to Israel. The visit comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, U.S. warnings, and evolving global diplomatic dynamics, adding a layer of caution to market sentiment.

The Nifty briefly slipped into negative territory amid volatility surrounding the monthly F&O expiry before recovering marginally in the final hour to close little changed. Nifty ended near the 25,500 level.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex shed 27.46 points or 0.03% to 82,248.61. The Nifty 50 index rose 14.05 points or 0.06% to 25,496.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap...