Sensex, Nifty End Flat After Scaling New Highs

The Indian stock market ended the final trading session of calendar year 2020 on a flat note, after swinging between gains and losses right through the day, as investors refrained from making significant moves due to a lack of triggers.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which hit a fresh all-time intraday high of 47,896.97, ended Thursday's session with a small gain of 5.11 points or 0.01% at 47,751.33, a new record.

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty ended with a slender loss of 0.20 points at 13,981.75, after scaling a new high at 14,024.85.

Notwithstanding some severe setbacks due to the coronavirus pandemic and worries about its impact on the economy, domestic as well as international, the Sensex and the Nifty gained about 16% and 15%, respectively in the calendar year.

HDFC, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints gained 1 to 1.7%. Titan Industries, Infosys, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Maruti Suzuki and HCL Technologies chipped in with modest gains.

Among the losers in the Sensex, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Bank and Tech Mahindra ended lower by 1 to 1.3%.

BHEL surged higher after the company said it has bagged orders worth Rs 3,200 crore for hydro projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.

Shares of FDC Limited gained about 2% after the company said it is in the process of expanding its production capacity.

Filatex India shares surged up nearly 4%, lifted by an announcement from the company that it has commenced captive generation of solar power at its Dahej and Dadra units.

As per the Reserve Bank of India, India's current account surplus shrank to $15.5 billion in the July-September quarter from a record $19.2 billion a quarter earlier as its merchandise trade deficit grew. The surplus stood at 2.4% of the gross domestic product in the latest quarter, compared with a deficit of $7.6 billion, or 1.1% of GDP, in the same period last year.

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