Mumbai, March 19 (IANS): A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Wednesday closed flat, paring gains of earlier sessions with information technology (IT) and automobile stocks losing the most.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex (sensitive index) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) which opened at 21,872.68 points, closed at 21,832.86 points -- up 0.25 points from its previous close of 21,832.61 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 21,895.83 points and a low of 21,782.01 points during intra-day trade.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 7.40 points or 0.11 percent up at 6,524.05 points.

Heavy selling pressure was observed in IT, technology, entertainment and media (TECk) and automobile stocks. However, metal, bank and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) scrips gained.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE IT index was down 198.97 points, followed by TECk index which fell by 79.80 points and automobile index which fell 8.98 points.

However, the S&P BSE metal index was up 189.60 points, while the bank index gained by 83.80 points and the FMCG index moved higher 82.22 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Tata Steel, up 4.58 percent at Rs.356.30; Hindalco Inds, up 4.44 percent at Rs.119.95; Axis Bank, up 2.78 percent at Rs.1,386.15; Sesa Sterlite, up 2.09 percent at Rs.175.95; and HDFC, up 1.77 percent at Rs.866.50.

The losers were: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), down 3.84 percent at Rs.2,040.95; ONGC, down 3.22 percent at Rs.314.30; Mahindra and Mahindra, down 2.79 percent at Rs.982.10; Coal India, down 2.63 percent at Rs.263.30; and Gail India, down 2.53 percent at Rs.360.10.

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