Closing Bell: Nifty settles above 17300 in a volatile trading session

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty tussled around the flatline in a choppy session on Thursday due to a mixed trend in global markets as investors globally remained cautious on updates on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Headline equity indices fell for the second straight session on Thursday led by losses in banking stocks amid highly volatile trade. Investors were cautious due to the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Both the frontline indices fluctuated between gains and losses throughout the session before settling in red.

At the closing bell on February 17, the Sensex was down 104.67 points or 0.18% at 57,892.01, and the Nifty was down 17.60 points or 0.10% at 17,304.60. On the market breadth, around 1241 shares have advanced, 2042 shares declined, and 100 shares are unchanged.

Among the top Nifty losers were ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank and UPL, while top gainers included Tata Consumer Products, ONGC, HDFC, Reliance Industries and HDFC Life.

In the biggest laggard, ICICI Bank shares cracked 2.15 per cent to Rs 747.60. Whereas, shares of the newly-listed Adani Wilmar extended losses to the second straight day on Thursday. The company's share price slipped 4.3% to an intraday low of Rs 360.60 on the BSE.

On a sectoral basis, the bank index slipped 1%, while power index gained nearly 2%. In the broader market, BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended in the red.

On the 30-share BSE platform, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and TCS attracted the most losses with their shares sliding as much as 2.03%.

Indian market witnessed a see-saw trade since the start of this week, taking cues from the global markets.

Also read: F&O Cues: Key support & resistance levels for Nifty 50