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Stock Market Closing Bell: Indian equity markets ended Thursday’s session on a flat note after a day of volatile swings, as investors tracked progress on a potential India-U.S. trade agreement that could ease tariff tensions.

The BSE Sensex closed marginally higher by 13.98 points at 84,480.49, while the Nifty 50 inched up 3.35 points to 25,879.15, reflecting cautious sentiment across sectors.

Among Sensex constituents, Asian Paints was the top performer, rallying 3.81 per cent to Rs 2,879.10, hitting a new 52-week high following its strong Q2 earnings and a Rs 4.5 interim dividend announcement.

ICICI Bank gained 1.99 per cent, supported by steady loan growth expectations, while Power Grid and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) each rose 1.16 per cent. Other notable gainers included Bajaj Finserv (+0.90 per cent), Bharti Airtel (+0.73 per cent), Sun Pharma (+0.48 per cent), and Maruti Suzuki (+0.44 per cent).

On the losing side, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles slipped 2.26 per cent, while Eternal Ltd dropped 3.63 per cent. Other laggards included Mahindra & Mahindra (-1.45 per cent), Trent (-1.19 per cent), Tata Steel (-1.15 per cent), and Bharat Electronics (-1.10 per cent). Heavyweights TCS (-0.81 per cent), Infosys (-0.58 per cent), and HDFC Bank (-0.27 per cent) also saw mild declines, dragging down overall market sentiment.

Sector-wise, performance was mixed. Gains were led by Nifty Metal (+0.44 per cent), Nifty Realty (+0.42 per cent), and Nifty Pharma (+0.41 per cent), indicating defensive and value buying. Nifty Bank rose 0.18 per cent, and Nifty Financial Services gained 0.22 per cent.

However, selling pressure was visible in Nifty FMCG (-0.51 per cent), Nifty IT (-0.48 per cent), and Nifty PSU Bank (-0.68 per cent), as investors booked profits after recent rallies.

The broader market underperformed the benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.35 per cent, the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 0.37 per cent, and the Nifty Microcap 250 was down 0.09 per cent, showing mild consolidation across mid and small-cap counters.

Anubhav Maurya is a Senior Sub-Editor at Zee Business, focusing on the stock market, personal finance, corporate news, and related sectors.

He has previously worked wi