Sensex, Nifty End Flat; Auto, Metal Stocks Underperform, FMCG Shares Gain

All the 11 sector gauges compiled by the NSE, barring the index of FMCG shares ended lower led by the Nifty Metal index's nearly 4 per cent fall.

The Indian equity benchmarks ended on a flat note on Friday as gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, ITC, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever were offset with losses in HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, State Bank of India and HDFC. For most part of the day, the benchmarks traded in a narrow range wherein the Sensex moved in a range of 425 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 14,749.65 and low of 14,591.90. The Sensex ended 42 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 48,733 and Nifty 50 index declined 19 points to close at 14,678. All the 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange, barring the index of FMCG shares ended lower led by the Nifty Metal index's nearly 4 per cent fall. Metal stock succumbed to profit-booking after staging a strong upmove. Nifty Auto, Media, Pharma, PSU Bank, and Bank indices also fell between 1-2 per cent.