Final Trade: Sensex ends 46 pts lower, Nifty shuts shop at 24,334 as D-Street winds down ahead of Maharashtra Day holiday

Indian markets closed flat in a choppy session on April 30 as investors turned cautious ahead of the mid-week market holiday for Maharashtra Day. While realty and pharma stocks stole the spotlight, broader indices saw profit booking.

The BSE Sensex slipped 46 points to settle at 80,242, while the NSE Nifty50 managed to hold above 24,330 despite a volatile session. Gains in select heavyweights like Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, and Sun Pharma were offset by selling in Bajaj Finance, Trent, and SBI.

The Nifty Realty index ended 1.9 per cent higher, having surged as much as 3.6 per cent intraday. Macrotech Developers, Sobha, and Godrej Properties led the pack. Pharma stocks also supported the bulls, with JB Chemicals and Lupin lifting the sectoral index by 0.4 per cent.

On the flip side, PSU Bank stocks faced heavy selling. UCO Bank and SBI lost over 3 per cent each, dragging the sector index down by 2.2 per cent. Other laggards included media and financial stocks.

Broader markets were under stress, with the Nifty Smallcap100 dropping 1.7 per cent and the Midcap100 down nearly 0.9 per cent. Kfin Tech, Exide, and BSE were among the top losers from the space.

With markets shut on May 1, all eyes are now on key earnings and macro data in the coming sessions. Analysts expect volatility to persist as investors juggle global cues and domestic earnings.

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