(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended a choppy session on a flat note Thursday as healthcare stocks gained ground, offsetting losses among metal and realty stocks.
While global cues remained muted due to the Thanksgiving Day holding in the U.S., the emergence of fresh dollar selling and lower Treasury yields on dovish Fed expectations helped stem losses in the broader market.
Investors are pinning hopes that the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates further and might cut rates at the April 30-May 1, 2024 meeting to support growth.
Meanwhile, crude prices were down 1.6 percent in European trade to extend losses from the previous session on signs of increasing U.S. inventories and amid disappointment over postponement of the OPEC+ ministerial meeting.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex swung between gains and losses before ending the session down 5.43 points, or 0.01 percent, at 66,017.81.
The broader NSE Nifty index settled 9.85 points, or 0.05 percent, lower at 19,802.
Cipla slumped 7.6 percent after the U.S. FDA pulled up the company for manufacturing lapses at its Pithampur plant.
Larsen & Toubro, LTIMindTree, SBILife and UltraTech Cement fell 1-2 percent.
On the positive side, Hero MotoCorp jumped 4.5 percent to extend recent gains after announcing record festive sales.
Rival Bajaj Auto surged 3.1 percent and Eicher Motor added 1.1 percent. Indian Among other prominent gainers, BPCL rallied 2.2 percent and IndusInd Bank gained 1.1 percent.
