Indian equity markets ended largely flat in a range-bound session on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision, which is set to be announced on Friday. 

The Nifty closed 10.95 points or 0.05 per cent higher at 23,416.55, while the Sensex ended marginally up by 13.84 points or 0.02 per cent at 74,360.01.

Commenting on technical outlook, experts said that 23,500 remains the critical decision zone for the short-term trend.

“A decisive close above this level could improve sentiment and pave the way towards 23,600, followed by 23,800, where significant call writing and supply are visible,” an analyst stated.

“On the downside, 23,300–23,350 continues to act as immediate support, followed by the stronger 23,150–23,200 demand zone, which has attracted buying interest repeatedly over the last few sessions,” as per the market expert.

Despite the mild gains, the overall market sentiment remained subdued as participants preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of the key policy outcome.

Among the major laggards in the Nifty pack were Infosys, Bajaj Finserv and Hindalco Industries, which dragged the index during the session. Weakness in select heavyweight stocks capped broader upside in the benchmarks.

In contrast, broader markets showed relatively better momentum. The Nifty MidCap index ended 0.46 per cent higher, while the Nifty SmallCap index gained 0.49 per cent.

Sectorally, performance remained mixed. The Nifty IT, Nifty Metal and Nifty Chemical indices underperformed during the session — reflecting pressure in export-linked and commodity-driven segments.

However, buying interest was seen in consumer-facing sectors, with the Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Media indices emerging as top outperformers.

Market participants now await the outcome of the MPC meeting, which is expected to provide cues on interest rate trajectory and liquidity conditions, likely setting the tone for near-term market direction.