Mumbai, Sept. 17 -- Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed nearly flat on Thursday as caution prevailed after the US Federal Reserve increased its interest rates and indicated further tightening in monetary policy.
Giving up intraday gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 21.86 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,314.59.
The 50-share NSE Nifty closed higher by 53 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 23,270.60.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, HDFC Bank, Titan, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank were the major laggards.
Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics, InterGlobe Aviation, Eternal, Maruti and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
Broader markets closed higher as the BSE SmallCap Select index jumped 0.95 per cent and the MidCap Select index climbed 0.72 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, Insurance surged the most by 3.23 per cent, Capital Goods 1.96 per cent, Industrials 1.51 per cent, Realty 1.47 per cent, Healthcare 1.36 per cent, Hospitals 1.35 per cent, Services 1.33 per cent, Metal 1.12 per cent, and Auto 1.11 per cent.
Top 10 Banks declined 0.72 per cent, Private Banks index 0.63 per cent, Bankex 0.50 per cent, MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt 0.35 per cent, Energy 0.35 per cent, Oil & Gas 0.25 per cent, Housing Finance 0.21 per cent and MidSmall Private Banks 0.19 per cent.
FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 2,032.61 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.