Benchmark indices ended flat on Friday with a positive bias in rangebound trading as investors remained cautious ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s comments.

Sensex closed 33 points, or 0.04%, up at 81,086.21, while the Nifty 50 ended 12 points, or 0.05%, up at 24,823.15.

Nifty 50 closed in the green for seven consecutive sessions. The index has managed an overall gain of 2.8% during this period.

The BSE Midcap index was down 0.6%, while the Smallcap index ended flat.

Among the sectors, the auto index was up 1%, while metal, realty, media, PSU Bank, and IT were down 0.5-2.5%. Nifty Realty plunged 2.43% to end as the top loser among sectoral indices, followed by the Media and IT indices.

The Nifty Midcap 150 index fell half a per cent, while the Smallcap 250 index ended 0.12% up.

On the Nifty 50, the shares of Bajaj Auto (4.74%), Coal India (1.70%), and Bharti Airtel (1.59%) closed as the top gainers.

Shares of LTIMindtree (1.27%), Wipro (1.16%), and ONGC (1.01%) closed as the top losers.

Reliance Power shares fell 5% after SEBI banned promoter Anil Ambani from the securities market for five years.

Sebi has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 crore on Ambani and restrained him from being associated with the securities market, including as a director or Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) in any listed company or intermediary registered with the market regulator, for a period of 5 years.

RailTel Corporation of India shares rose nearly 6% after the company secured a work order worth Rs 52.66 crore from the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board.

The shares of Bajaj Auto surged nearly 5% after it saw an increase in the two-wheeler EV market share, while Ola Electric, a newly listed company, saw a decrease.

Amid eyes on US Fed Chair Powell’s speech, gold prices traded higher. MCX gold rate opened above ₹71,400 per 10 grams level, while silver prices rose above ₹84,030 per kg level.

Major Asian and European peers were largely positive and the dollar hovered near one-year lows.

Global Central Bank officials gathered in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the annual Economic Symposium. Investors will be closely watching Fed Chair Powell’s address for clues on the timing and extent of the Fed rate cut and policy easing cycle.