Indian markets ended the day flat with a negative bias. The BSE Sensex was down 0.2 per cent and closed at 17,197. The NSE Nifty also closed down 0.2 per cent and ended the day at 5,215.
“Domestic markets have been resilient mainly on account of anticipation of reform initiatives by government, FII flows and steady crude oil prices. Expectations from the Fed and European Central Bank were also high in July. However, the Fed and ECB failed to match up to the market expectations as they did not announce and stimulus measures,” said Dipen Shah, Head of Fundamental Research, Kotak Securities.
Stocks of the oil&gas, health care and IT sector were up about 0.5 per cent. Metal, auto and banking sector stocks were down the most, down 0.6, 0.8 and 0.6 per cent.
Among the Sensex stocks, Wipro, NTPC, Dr Reddys Lab, ONGC and GAIL were the top five gainers. The top five laggards were Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Hindalco, ICICI Bank and Jindal Steel.