India's main equity indices ended on a flat-to-negative note in Thursday's trade which was marked by volatility as investors remained cautious ahead of quarterly earnings results along with brewing tensions between the government and the Reserve Bank.In addition, the stock indices ignored firm global cues as major Asian and European indices ended in the green. Even a stronger rupee amid a decline in international crude oil prices failed to cheer investors.On a stock specific basis, barring the export-oriented counters, which struggled due to a recovery by the rupee, almost all the BSE sectors closed in the positive territory.Index-wise, the S&P BSE Sensex settled 10.08 points lower at 34,431.97. It had opened at 34,650.63 from its previous close of 34,442.05.It touched an intra-day high of 34,679.93 points and a low of 34,303.38 points. Similarly, the NSE Nifty50 ended in the red. It closed 6.15 points down at 10,380.45 points.Besides, the broader markets like the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 1.10 per cent, while S&P BSE SmallCap index was up 1.09 per cent. The market breadth was positive with 1,614 advances and 1,002 declines. "Market was range bound despite a fall in oil prices and strengthening rupee as investors remain focused on quarter earnings," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
"Currently, many stocks are trading at oversold region while turnaround will happen on the basis of change in sector outlook or revival in earnings. Signs of turnaround were seen in mid & small cap which continue to outperform the main indices."According to HDFC Securities' Retail Research Head Deepak Jasani: "Technically, the Nifty seems to have taken a breather after a sharp rally seen on Wednesday.""Further upsides are likely once the immediate resistances of 10,442 points are taken out. Crucial supports to watch for any weakness are at 10,342 points."In terms of currency, the rupee closed at Rs 73.45 to a US dollar from its previous close of 73.95. Moreover, investment wise, the provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 348.75 crore on Thursday while the domestic institutional investors bought scrip worth Rs 509.17 crore.The top gainers on BSE were led by Yes Bank, up 8.35 per cent at Rs 203.75; Axis Bank, up 3.51 per cent at Rs 602.35; IndusInd, up 2.84 per cent at Rs 1,464.95; Larsen & Tubro , up 2.65 per cent at Rs 1,332.80; and State Bank India, up 1.85 per cent at Rs 285.70 a share.The top losers were Infosys down 2.90 per cent at Rs 666.35; Coal India, down 1.90 per cent at Rs 261.10; NTPC, down 1.85 per cent at Rs 156.85; Sun Pharma, down 1.31 per cent at Rs 571.55 and Mahindra and Mahindra down 1.06 per cent at Rs 755.25 per share.