The Indian share benchmarks clsoed on a flat note for the second consecutive session on Thursday. Gains in Reliance, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever and HCL Technologies were offset with losses in Bharti Airtel, Infosys, SBI, ITC and Maruti Suzuki.

At close, the BSE Sensex rose 5 points to close at 55,949 and Nifty 50 index advanced 2 points to close at record high of 16,637. Sectorally, Telecom, Metal, Healthcare and Auto indexes ended lower.

Britannia Industries was top Nifty gainer, followed by Tata Consumer Products, Bharat Petroleum, HDFC Life, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. On the flipside, Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India, Hindalco, Power Grid, NTPC, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel were among the losers. Sectorally, the metals stock  bled the most, down 1.3 percent, followed by the PSB Index (down 0.8 percent). On the upside, the Nifty FMCG index rose 0.58 percent.

Meanwhile, US equities extended gains in the overnight session with S&P 500 and Nasdaq witnessing fresh record highs ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

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