Stock markets end flat as West Asia tensions, higher oil prices weigh on sentiment

New Delhi: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Monday as a sharp rally in crude oil prices due to escalating tensions in West Asia weighed on overall investor sentiment.

Resilience in IT and consumer durables stocks, however, helped offset the impact of geopolitical concerns, enabling the benchmark indices to recover from early losses and close on a largely flat note, an expert said.

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After falling sharply during morning trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded by 219.9 points during the day but failed to build on the gains. The benchmark went up by 47.01 points, or 0.06 percent, to settle at 77,616.40. During the morning trade, it tanked 711.96 points, or 0.91 percent, to 76,857.43.

The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out an uptick of 4.10 points, or 0.02 percent, to end at 24,211, registering its third day of gains.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services jumped 5.43 percent to emerge as the top gainer, while HCL Tech climbed 5.02 percent, Tech Mahindra 3.34 percent, Infosys 3.17 percent, NTPC 2.18 percent and Kotak Mahindra Bank 1.83 percent.

Tata Steel, Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, UltraTech Cement and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 2.57 percent to USD 77.96 per barrel.

"Indian equity markets ended largely flat after opening on a weak note, as investors adopted a wait-and-watch approach amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran. Continued hostilities around the Strait of Hormuz, which have disrupted oil tanker movements and pushed crude oil prices sharply higher, kept overall market sentiment cautious," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

However, resilience in IT, consumer durables and financial services stocks helped offset the impact of geopolitical concerns, enabling the benchmark indices to recover from early losses and close on a largely flat note, he added.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi slumped 8.95 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai's SSE Composite index also ended lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled marginally higher.

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Markets in Europe were trading mixed. US markets ended higher on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,603.72 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Friday, the Sensex jumped 827.57 points, or 1.08 percent, to settle at 77,569.39. The Nifty surged 244.10 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 24,206.90.

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