Markets end flat after choppy trade; ICICI Bank shines

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended flat after choppy trade on Friday, tracking weak cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gyrated 543.96 points before closing 12.78 points or 0.02 per cent higher at its new closing record of 51,544.30.

The broader NSE Nifty, however, slipped 10 points or 0.07 per cent to 15,163.30.

ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Infosys, HDFC twins, Bajaj Finserv and SBI.

On the other hand, ITC, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Titan were among the laggards.

According to Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, risk appetite trickled down and equities pared gains with several cities across globe entering fresh lockdowns.

"Indian equities were in the green in the first half with Bank Nifty rising over 1 per cent, but VIX rose in the second half, and traders opted cut down long bets across sectors, going into the weekend," he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, most bourses remained closed for holidays.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.72 per cent lower at USD 60.70 per barrel.