Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a highly volatile trade on Thursday with investors taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of the US-Russia talks.

Extending gains to the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 57.75 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 80,597.66. During the day, it rallied 211.27 points or 0.26 per cent to 80,751.18.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 11.95 points or 0.05 per cent to 24,631.30.

Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Infosys, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the major gainers.

However, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

The Trump-Putin meeting could have significant implications for energy markets, potentially leading to an easing of sanctions against Moscow.

Meanwhile, S&P upgraded India's sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' with a stable outlook after a gap of nearly 19 years, citing robust economic growth, political commitment for fiscal consolidation and 'conducive' monetary policy to check inflation.

"India remains among the best performing economies in the world...The quality of government spending has improved in the past five to six years," S&P Global Ratings said.

The impact of US tariffs on the Indian economy will be "manageable", S&P said, adding that a 50 per cent tariff on US exports (if imposed) will not pose a "material drag" on growth.

"India is relatively less reliant on trade and about 60% of its economic growth stems from domestic consumption," it said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi settled in positive territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.

Equity markets in Europe were trading mostly higher.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday.

Wholesale price inflation declined to a 2-year low of (-) 0.58 per cent in July, as deflation in food and fuel kept WPI in the negative zone for the second consecutive month, government data released on Thursday showed.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53 per cent to USD 65.92 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,644.43 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 5,623.79 crore, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex climbed 304.32 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 80,539.91. The Nifty edged up by 131.95 points or 0.54 per cent to 24,619.35. PTI SUM SUM MR MR

Sovereign credit rating upgrade spurred market reassessment amid trade sanctions and tariff risks affecting investor sentiment. S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's sovereign credit rating to a stable outlook, citing robust growth, improved government spending quality, fiscal consolidation commitment, and supportive monetary policy; this upgrade, together with falling wholesale price inflation, oil price moves, potential easing of sanctions and prospective US tariffs, and offsetting capital flows, were the principal drivers of market sentiment and near-term risk assessment.