Indian Shares End Flat Amid Turmoil In US Bond Markets

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fluctuated before ending little changed on Friday as investors saw the U.S. Treasury's bond buyback move as a temporary fix rather than a structural solution to rising yields.

Less than 24 hours after doubling the size of debt buybacks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the government's bond buyback program could be expanded beyond the $4 billion per operation ceiling and the Treasury would keep watching how conditions develop.

The announcement failed to calm markets. With the U.S. national debt doubling over the last decade to hit a record $40 trillion and Brent crude prices surging above $93 a barrel amid the impasse in talks for deal end the U.S.-Iran war, analysts said that any effect on bond yields would prove temporary.

Market participants also watched the latest developments in the Middle East amid the continuing standoff between Washington and Teran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Bessent announced on Thursday that Washington will impose "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, with full details of the sanctions expected next week.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex fluctuated before ending little changed at 77,540.83, tracking mixed cues from global markets.

The NSE Nifty index edged up 20.15 points to close at 24,252 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes inched up 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 2,256 shares rising while 2,086 shares fell and 222 shares closed unchanged.

Among the top gainers, Power Grid Corp rallied 2.7 percent after shareholders approved raising its borrowing limit from Rs. 1,80,000 crore to 2,20,000 crore. BEL and Kotak Mahindra Bank both rose around 1 percent.

IT stocks led losses, with Infosys and HCL Technologies falling around 1 percent each. Indigo, Maruti Suzuki India and Trent all fell around 1.5 percent.