Stock market today: Nifty50 ends just shy of 25,500; BSE Sensex closes flat

Stock market today: The benchmark BSE Sensex edged down 27.46 points to finish at 82,248.61 on Thursday after a choppy trading session, as declines in HDFC Bank and other heavyweight stocks weighed on the market.Investor sentiment remained guarded due to concerns surrounding potential US-Iran nuclear negotiations, developments in artificial intelligence and uncertainties linked to tariffs.The 30-share index began the day on a positive note and extended gains by about 303 points to touch an intraday high of 82,579.16 in late morning trade, supported by strength in other Asian markets. However, selling pressure in financial services, FMCG and real estate stocks erased the gains, pulling the index down by 608 points from the peak to an intraday low of 81,970.47 during the afternoon session. The Sensex eventually settled slightly lower by 27.46 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 82,248.61.Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty 50 recorded a modest rise of 14.05 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 25,496.55.Among Sensex constituents, the biggest declines were seen in Trent, Eternal, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and Axis Bank. On the other hand, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Maruti and Bharti Airtel ended the session with gains."The domestic market surrendered its early gains amid mixed global cues and increased caution ahead of the US-Iran nuclear talks, as well as key data releases including US initial jobless claims and India's GDP print, which triggered profit-booking," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth ₹2,991.64 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought shares amounting to ₹5,118.57 crore."Sentiment remained cautious amid US-Iran tensions, AI-related developments and tariff concerns. Institutional flows helped limit deeper losses, while easing India VIX indicated relatively stable volatility despite lack of direction," said Gaurvav Garg, Analyst, Lemonn Markets Desk.Among sectoral indices on the BSE, the hospitals index rose 1.35 per cent, followed by PSU banks at 0.98 per cent, healthcare at 0.96 per cent, capital goods at 0.88 per cent, telecommunication at 0.75 per cent and industrials at 0.60 per cent.Sectors that underperformed included FMCG, financial services, utilities, consumer durables and power.The BSE midcap select index advanced 0.57 per cent, while the smallcap select index slipped 0.12 per cent.Across Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi surged 3.67 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 also ended in positive territory. In contrast, China’s Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished lower.European markets were trading mostly in the green, while US equities had closed higher on Wednesday."Indian equity markets ended largely unchanged, underscoring a clear tug-of-war between early optimism and cautious profit-booking. Positive global cues from technology and metals supported sentiment at the open, but gains gradually faded as investors chose to trim exposure at higher levels rather than chase momentum," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)