Indian indices ended flat on Friday as losses in metal, auto stocks offset a surge in FMCG majors. The sentiment was also lifted as heavyweights Asian Paints surged 8.5 percent and UPL rallied over 7 percent after both the stock reported stellar earnings for the March quarter.

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The Sensex ended 42 points higher at 48,732 while the Nifty fell 19 points to settle at 14,678. Both indices finished the holiday-shortened week about 1 percent lower after losses earlier in the week on US inflation worries.

"Market swung between gains and losses in today’s volatile trade as gains in Consumer and Capital goods were countered by losses in Metals and Auto stocks. Owing to a decline in food prices, April’s retail inflation eased to 4.29 percent while Industrial production for March registered a growth of 22.4 percent supported by lower base. Global markets traded with optimism on Fed official comment stating that they are not much concerned about long-term inflation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the midcap and smallcap indices down around 1.5 percent each for the day.

On the Nifty50 index, Asian Paints, UPL, ITC, Nestle and HUL were the top gainers while Tata Motors, Coal India, Tata Steel, Hindalco and IndusInd Bank led the losses.

Among sectors, the Nifty Metal index shed 3.7 percent while Nifty Auto lost 2 percent for the day. Nifty Pharma also fell over a percent and Nifty Bank was down 0.9 percent. However, Nifty FMCG surged over 2 percent capping the losses.

The initial public offering (IPO) of PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (PowerGrid InvIT) made a muted debut on the bourses today. The stock rose 3 percent to Rs 103 per share on BSE as against its issue price of Rs 100 per unit.

(Edited by : Pranati Deva)

First Published:May 14, 2021 3:34 PM IST