Nifty ends tad above 8100, Sensex flat; IT slips, SBI up 3%

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended flat with the Sensex down 1.06 points at 26395.71. The Nifty slipped 1.75 points at 8108.85. About 1521 shares have advanced, 1086 shares declined, and 139 shares are unchanged.

SBI, Cipla, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma and ITC were top gainers while Bajaj Auto, HUL, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Gold climbs: Powered by a firm global trend and persistent buying by jewellers at the domestic spot market, gold prices climbed for the sixth straight day today, gaining Rs 140 to Rs 29,800 per ten grams at the bullion market today.

Silver also rebounded by Rs 260 to Rs 41,260 per kg due to increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Analysts said a firming global trend where gold climbed to the highest in four weeks as uncertainty mounts over whether Britain will exit the European Union and speculations that the US Fed will keep interest rates unchanged at its two-day meeting that begins later in the day buoyed sentiment here.

2:55 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks recouped losses amid volatility. The Sensex declined 6.89 points to 26389.88 and the Nifty fell 6.70 points to 8103.90.About 1476 shares advanced against 1037 declining shares on BSE.2:40 pm FM on GST: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today held a meeting with state finance ministers to iron out differences on the goods and services tax (GST), saying that consensus had been reached on a number of issues bogging down the tax, such as whether the rate should be capped in the Constitution.

A decade in the making, the GST will subsume almost all central and state-level indirect taxes and levies, and is expected to result in lower taxes, eliminate cascading taxes (tax on tax), improve compliance and widen the tax base.

"The idea of the meeting was to lay down further roadmap with respect to how to proceed with the GST. 22 state finance ministers attended the meeting and there were representatives from all states and union territories," Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at a press conference following the meeting.

2:20 pm Oil update: Crude oil futures fell in Asian trade, as investors ignored signs of market tightness to focus on concerns over global growth and overnight declines in stocks on the impending vote on Britain's possible European Union exit.

Brent crude oil futures slipped below USD 50 a barrel, falling 1.39 percent to USD 49.66, dropping for a fourth successive day.

US crude was down 76 cents, or 1.55 percent, at USD 48.12 a barrel, also down for a fourth day in a row.Also read - Bottom-up investors: 3 long-term stock picks for your portfolio2:00 pm Market Check

The market fell further amid consolidation in afternoon trade, tracking extended losses in European peers. The Sensex slipped 84.70 points to 26312.07 and the Nifty declined 27.80 points to 8082.80.

The BSE Midcap also turned negative but the market breadth remained positive that supporting Smallcap index to gain 0.35 percent. About 1479 shares advanced against 964 declining shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE fell 1 percent each as investors waver ahead of a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve and global concerns over a Brexit weigh on sentiment.

Infosys, HDFC, TCS, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were leading contributors in Sensex's fall while Adani Ports, SBI and Cipla outperformed, rising 2-3 percent.