Dalal Street ended flat on Thursday after Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi said she would quit as an MP after a controversy threatened to disqualify her from Parliament.Moreover, worries about stretched valuations and the impact of higher interest rates on companies’ profits also weighed on shares. Banks and home loan companies have started preparing for the second round of interest rate hike.The 30-share BSE Sensex gave up its gains after the news on Gandhi and ended 0.01 per cent lower at 10,840.59 points after falling as much as 0.5 per cent in late trade. ‘‘It is just a knee-jerk reaction from some retail participants in a market that was already top-heavy,” said an institutional broker.Added another market player, ‘‘It’s nothing to worry about, as liquidity is good . the real worries are valuations and interest rates.’’ The 50-issue NSE index edged up 0.22 per cent to 3,247.15.Investors sold scrips of software firms and auto makers, with bellwether Infosys slipping nearly 1 per cent to Rs 2,896.90 and Maruti Udyog losing more than 1 per cent to Rs 837.10.Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd rose 2.6 per cent to Rs 437.95 after it said it expects exports of oil products to be steady at 1 million tonnes in the year ending March 2007. Hitech Entertainment Ltd rose 2 per cent to Rs 51.90 after it said an individual had made an open offer for 20 per cent of the company at Rs 51 a share.
