Equities indices end flat, auto stocks in top gear

Equity bourses traded gap up following global cues in morning hours on Tuesday but ended flat after a downward swing in afternoon while investors focused on prospects of post-pandemic economic growth.

At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by only 14 points or 0.03 per cent at 52,589 while the Nifty 50 ticked up by 26 points or 0.17 per cent to 15,773.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty auto advancing by 1.3 per cent, IT by 0.5 per cent and metal by 0.3 per cent. But Nifty realty closed 0.7 per cent lower.

Among stocks, Jet Airways share price was locked at 5 per cent upper circuit after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved Kalrock-Jalan consortium's resolution plan for the company with riders. The stock closed at Rs 99.45 per unit.

Adani Ports gave up early gains but closed 1.6 per cent higher at Rs 742.55 per share. Maruti Suzuki accelerated by 5.2 per cent and Tata Motors by 1 per cent.

UPL, Wipro, SBI Life, Larsen & Toubro and UltraTech Cement too were in the green. However, the laggards included Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded higher as investors moved back to buying after the previous day's loss and following a strong performance on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei posted biggest gains in a year to close 3.12 per cent higher as shipping stocks hit 10-year highs. South Korea's Kospi was up by 0.71 per cent but Hong Kong's Seng Index was down by 0.63 per cent.

( With inputs from ANI )