Sensex, Nifty settle flat after hitting fresh lifetime high levels in early trade

Mumbai, July 2

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit fresh lifetime high levels before closing flat due to profit-taking in select banking and telecom shares amid concerns over rich valuations on Tuesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 34.74 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 79,441.45 in a volatile trade. During the day, it jumped 379.68 points or 0.47 per cent to hit a record peak of 79,855.87.

The Nifty declined by 18.10 points or 0.07 per cent to 24,123.85. Intra-day, it climbed 94.4 points or 0.39 per cent to hit a lifetime high of 24,236.35.

Among the Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India and Titan were the biggest laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and Tata Steel were the biggest gainers.

On Monday, the BSE benchmark settled higher by 443.46 points or 0.56 per cent at an all-time peak of 79,476.19. The Nifty climbed 131.35 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at a fresh lifetime high of 24,141.95.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory on Tuesday, while Seoul ended lower.

European markets were trading down. US markets ended in the green on Monday.

India’s gross GST collection increased 8 per cent to Rs 1.74 lakh crore in June, sources said on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.66 per cent to USD 87.17 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 426.03 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.