Equity benchmark indices lost early gains during the
fag-end of trade on Thursday to close on a flat note amid profit-taking.

The BSE Sensex closed just 33.20 points or 0.06% higher
at 55,702.23. During the day, it surged 897.77 points or 1.61% to 56,566.80.

Likewise, the NSE Nifty closed just 5.05 points or 0.03%
higher to 16,682.65.

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On the sectoral front, power, capital goods and IT
indices rose 1-2% each while realty, FMCG, and pharma indices fell 0.5-1.5%.
BSE midcap and smallcap indices closed marginally lower.

Major gainers from the 30-share pack include Tech
Mahindra up by 4.07%, Infosys up by 3.21%, HCL Tech up by 2.76%, Wipro up by
1.87%, Tata Steel up by 1.83%, Kotak Mahindra up by 1.18% and TCS up by 0.89%.

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Among the losers were IndusInd Bank down by 4.32%, Nestle
down by 2.76%, UltraTech Cement down by 2.58%, Sun Pharma down by 2.54%,
Reliance Industries down by 1.95%, Power Grid Corp down by 1.58%, Bajaj Finserv
down by 1.32% and Titan Company down by 1.16%.

Indian rupee settled 16 paise higher at 76.26 per US dollar
against the previous close of 76.42

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Among Asian market peers, Hong Kong settled lower, while
Shanghai closed marginally higher. Markets in Japan and Korea were closed for
holidays.

European exchanges were trading with gains in the
afternoon session. US Stock exchanges surged higher in the overnight session on
Wednesday.

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The Federal Reserve intensified its fight against the
highest inflation in four decades by raising its key short-term interest rate
by half-percentage on Wednesday.

US markets gained on Wednesday after the Fed announced an
interest rate hike of 50 bps. Chair Jerome Powell said a 75 bps hike is not
something that the committee is actively considering. This statement led to a
market surge.

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“Rate hike and balance sheet unwinding quantum were
on expected line without any negative surprise, which was already factored in
market correction over past few days. It was like a relief rally to some
extent,” said Mitul Shah, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.

Domestic equity indices Sensex and Nifty had plunged over
2% each on Wednesday after the RBI in a surprise move increased the repo rate
by 40 basis points to 4.40% in a bid to contain inflation. The BSE benchmark
had tanked 1,306.96 points or 2.29% to 55,669.03. The Nifty tanked 391.50
points or 2.29% to 16,677.60.

International oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.27% to
USD 110.4 per barrel.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional
investors offloaded shares worth Rs 3,288.18 crore on Wednesday.