Sensex, Nifty close flat before Fed Chairman's speech

Mumbai, Aug 23 : Indian equity indices closed flat on Friday as market participants await the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

At closing, Sensex was up marginally by 33 points at 81,086 and Nifty was at 24,823 with a gain of 11 points.

During the day, Sensex traded in the range of 80,883 to 81,231 and Nifty traded in the range of 24,771 to 24,858.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, M&M, JSW Steel, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and HUL were the top losers. Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HCL Tech, Titan, Asian Paints, Infosys and TCS were the top losers.

Among the indices, IT, PSU Bank, fin service, realty, media and PSE index were major losers. Auto, infra and energy index were major gainers.

The broader market trend remained positive. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 2,061 shares were in the green and 1,878 shares in the red and 109 shares closed without change.

According to the market experts, "Ahead of the Fed chair Powell’s speech, the Indian indices oscillated around the flat trajectory and mixed global market sentiments further catalysed this scenario."

"Investors are exercising caution and awaiting Powell’s signals for more insights on the interest rate path. Most of the sectoral indices remained in the red; in contrast, the auto sector excelled as the industry is preparing for festive season demand with multiple launches," they added.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,371 crore on August 22, while domestic institutional investors also bought equities worth Rs 2,971 crore on the same day.

Indian equity indices opened flat in the morning as well. At 9:43 a.m., Sensex was down 129 points or 0.16 per cent at 80,923 and Nifty was down 21 points or 0.09 per cent at 24,789.