NIFTY50 and SENSEX closed flat; Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank among top gainers

Indian equity markets came off their intraday highs and ended with marginal gains. Sensex settled just above the psychological 81,600 level, while Nifty closed shy of the 25,000 mark.

Throughout the day, markets traded with limited gains ahead of Q2FY25 earnings. Investors were eyeing the second quarter results of IT bellweather TCS which kicks off the earnings season for India Inc. As for broader indices, the BSE Midcap index ended in red, while the Small Cap index ended in green.

Markets made a positive start and remained higher following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight and the mostly positive trend in Asian counterparts. Traders remain optimistic about more interest rate cuts by the US Fed and several other central banks. The minutes from the US Fed's September meeting showed officials agreed to cut interest rates but were unsure how aggressive to get.

Markets digested a private report that said that India's retail inflation in September likely overshot the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% medium-term target for the first time since July due to a persistent rise in vegetable prices and a lower year-ago base. In the afternoon session, indices came off from the day’s highs but continued to trade in green.

The BSE Sensex ended at 81,611.41, up by 144.31 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 81,538.94 and 82,002.84. There were 16 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE mid-cap index declined by 0.36%, while the small-cap index was up by 0.43%.

The NIFTY50 ended at 24,998.45, up by 16.50 points or 0.07% after trading between 24,979.40 and 25,134.05. The index had 23 advancing stocks and 26 declining stocks.

On the global front, European markets were trading lower due to lingering Middle East tensions and ahead of U.S. CPI data due later in the day. Asian markets ended mostly in green, with Chinese and Hong Kong markets leading the surge in hopes that policymakers will announce more stimulus to revive growth at a press briefing by China's finance ministry on Saturday.

European markets were trading lower; the UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 8.24 points or 0.1% to 8,235.50, France’s CAC fell 17.19 points or 0.23% to 7,542.90, and Germany’s DAX was down by 30.2 points or 0.16% to 19,224.73.