Sensex,Nifty go steady in a crisis-packed week

Mumbai: Equities found lack of direction and were left with little to show in a highly volatile trading week after RBI poured cold water on early market optimism concerning an interest rate cut even as global political uncertainty took centre stage in major economies.

Though it was an action-packed week, Indian markets showed much resilience and defended world pressure in the midst of an unexpected outcome for UK elections despite global uneasiness. Both the flagship indices - BSE-Sensex and NSE-Nifty closed at record highs on Monday.

It also conquered new historic peaks ahead of the much awaited central bank policy outcome before retreating. Breaking its spectacular record-setting fourth straight week rally, benchmark Sensex settled with a modest loss of 11.23 points at 31,262.06 after climbing a new peak of 31,430.

In contrast, the broader Nifty ended at a record high of 9,668.25 with a modest gain of 14.75 points after briefly kissing the 9,700 milestone for the first time, stretching its powerful bull-run.

Trading got off to a fairly buoyant start, induced by the country's GST preparedness and investors' focus on banking counters ahead of the RBI policy as well as better monsoon forecast, propelling key indices to new heights. However, markets developed cold feet the next very day after briefly scaling historic peaks as traders adopted a defensive stance, triggering heavy profit-taking.

Investors' sentiment on Tuesday broadly titled towards political risks looming over US and UK elections alongwith ex-FBI Director's testimony on Trump conversations. Additionally, the gulf diplomatic crisis following the Arab countries' decisions led by Saudi Arabia to sever all ties with the tiny-yet-wealthy peninsular nation of Qatar over Islamist support, added some pressure on trading front too.