Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) The domestic benchmark indices ended flat on Tuesday ahead of Christmas as selling was seen in IT, financial service, pharma, PSU bank, metal and realty sectors in Nifty.  At closing, Sensex settled at 78,472.87 down by 67.30 points or 0.09 per cent and Nifty ended at 23,727.65 down by 25.80 points, or 0.11 per cent. Nifty Bank ended at 51,233 down by 84.60 points, or 0.16 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 57,057.90 at the end of trading after dropping 35 points, or 0.06 per cent. While Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,732.65 after gaining 44.85 points or 0.24 per cent.

According to market experts, the domestic market concluded flat ahead of the holiday, with metal and power stocks dragging performance while FMCG and auto sectors gained from recent corrections. "The near-term market trajectory hinges on the outcome of Q3 results and the Union budget, but caution prevails due to a strong dollar, high bond yields, and concerns over rate cuts. The INR hitting an all-time low, further evoked the caution," they added.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,980 shares ended in green and 2,016 in red, whereas there was no change in 96 shares. On the sectoral front, except Auto, FMCG, Private Bank, Consumption and Healthcare all sectors ended in red. In the Sensex pack, PowerGrid, SBI, Infosys, Titan, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel and Maruti were the top losers. Whereas, Tata Motors, ITC, Nestle India, NTPC, TCS, Zomato, Axis Bank, M&M, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Sun Pharma were the top gainers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 168.71 crore on December 23, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,227.68 crore on the same day. The Indian currency fell 9 paise to a new record low of 85.20 against the US dollar. On Monday, the rupee closed at 85.11 per dollar. The Indian stock market will be closed on Wednesday on the occasion of Christmas and the next trading session will be on Thursday.

/IANS