Mumbai, March 7 : Nifty ended almost flat on Thursday after hitting new highs intra-day. At close, Nifty was up 0.09 per cent or 19.5 points at 22,493.6, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

Cash market volumes on the NSE fell compared to the previous session but were still above Rs 1 lakh crore at Rs 1.05 lakh crore. The broad market indices rose more than the Nifty even as the advance-decline ratio rose to 1.64:1, Jasani said.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said the Nifty, after touching a new high above the 22,500 zone, consolidated in the positive territory ahead of the long weekend.

The broader market saw some buying after remaining under pressure for the past few sessions. The majority of the sectors ended in green with buying seen in metals, FMCG, financials, and consumer durables, he said.

Strong FII buying seen on Wednesday of around Rs 2,800 crore also supported the ongoing momentum.

The domestic markets will remain shut on Friday on account of Shivratri.

Next week, the investors will take cues from the outcome of the ECB interest rate meeting and US Non-Farm Payroll data to be released on Friday. Also, the second set of economic data would continue to drive the market sentiments.

"We expect Nifty to move towards 22,700-22,750 in the next few days with the ongoing rally focused on largecaps," Khemka said.

/IANS