Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities ended flat Friday on what was a largely lacklustre trading day.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,988.29 points, shut shop at 16,979.77 points (provisional), a meagre 8.07 points or 0.05 percent higher than its previous close at 16,971.7 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,084.95 points against the previous close at 5,080.25 points, a gain of 0.09 percent or 4.7 points.

Broader markets, however, did better with the BSE midcap index ending 0.62 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 0.8 percent up.