Indices at new highs; Sensex flat, Nifty tops 22,500

Equity benchmark indices opened at new highs on Thursday but soon pared gains to turn nearly flat. The BSE Sensex was up 85 points after hitting a new peak of 74,245 and the Nifty rose to 22,523, holding slim gains of 30 points.

JSW Steel, Bajaj twins, Power Grid, Tata Steel and SBI led gains on the Sensex, while UPL was the additional Nifty gainer.

On the flip side, M&M, ICICI Bank, Infosys, TCS and RIL were among the frontline drags.

BSE Smallcap index gained 0.7 per cent, partially recouping previous day’s sharp losses. Midcap pocket was up 0.2 per cent.

Among stocks, NLC fell over 3 per cent as the government will sell its 7 per cent stake in the company via an OFS today.

Nifty Auto held most losses, down 0.75 per cent. Metal pocket, on the other hand, led gains by rising over 1 per cent.