Sensex, Nifty Close Flat Amid Fresh Tensions in West Asia; Metal, Oil & Gas Shares Major Drag

• The Sensex closed 64.42 points higher at 73,983.18 after giving up most of an early 694-point rally.

• The Nifty ended 27.15 points lower at 23,214.95 after hitting an intraday high of 23,425.35.

• Oil and gas, metal and telecom stocks led the late-session decline, while banking and FMCG names supported the indices.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty pared gains to settle flat on Wednesday, dragged by last-hour selling in oil and gas, metal and telecom shares as renewed hostilities between the US and Iran unsettled investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 64.42 points, or 0.09%, at 73,983.18. The index opened higher and jumped 694.25 points, or 0.93%, before hitting a high of 74,613.01 in the first half. However, profit booking in metal, oil & gas and telecom shares in the second half of the session trimmed most of its intraday gains.

Retreating from its early highs, the 50-share NSE Nifty closed lower by 27.15 points, or 0.12%, at 23,214.95. The benchmark index hit a high of 23,425.35 and a low of 23,184.60 in intraday trade.

Weak trends in global markets and relentless foreign fund outflows made investors cautious, according to analysts.

Among the Sensex constituents, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC and HDFC Bank were the biggest winners.

Eternal Ltd, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were among the laggards.

"Investor sentiment remained fragile amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following fresh developments involving the US and Iran, which initially pushed Brent crude prices higher. However, resilience in select heavyweight counters, particularly banking majors, helped limit the downside," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Broader markets closed lower as the BSE SmallCap Select index declined 1.37% and MidCap Select index dropped 1.35%.

Sectorally, The MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt tanked 2.20%, followed by Telecommunication (1.98%), Metal (1.87%), Oil & Gas (1.77%), Realty (1.76%), Energy (1.71%), Power (1.64%) and Utilities (1.55%).

FMCG, Private Banks Index and Top 10 Banks were the winners.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower. The Kospi tanked 4.52% and the Nikkei 225 declined 1.89%.

Markets in Europe were trading in negative territory. US markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹4,566.03 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

"Indian equity markets ended modestly lower as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran unsettled investor sentiment and revived concerns over the durability of the fragile ceasefire. The Nifty traded positively through much of the first half before surrendering gains later in the session, as geopolitical uncertainty continued to limit risk appetite and cap any meaningful recovery," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Global markets remained under pressure after fresh military exchanges between the US and Iran heightened concerns over a renewed escalation in the Middle East, he added.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.20% to $91.27 per barrel.

On Tuesday, the Sensex climbed 394.50 points, or 0.54%, to settle at 73,918.76. The Nifty ended 119.10 points, or 0.52%, higher at 23,242.10.