Indian shares reversed gains on Wednesday, weighed by financials, amid a slide in global equities ahead of key U.S. macroeconomic data and corporate earnings for top domestic firms.
The Nifty 50 was down 0.14% at 18,239.35, as of 10:23 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.14% to 61,677.23. The benchmarks had risen 0.3% earlier in the session. Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes declined, with high-weightage financials losing 0.6%. The bank index fell 0.8%, while public sector banks declined over 2.3%.
"Investors have resorted to selective profit-taking after a sharp spike in the recent sessions," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities.
"The Nifty 50 has formed a small bearish candle in the daily charts, which indicates indecisiveness."
Wall Street equities declined overnight, ahead of U.S.
consumer prices data and on disappointing company forecasts.
Investors will be focusing on U.S. inflation data for potential cues into the Federal Reserve's future rate-hike path. Asian markets were subdued. Among individual stocks, shares of Shipping Corporation of India Ltd jumped over 7% in a weak market after
reporting
rise in quarterly profit.
Private lender IndusInd Bank Ltd rose over 2% and was the top Nifty 50 gainer after global brokerage UBS
upgraded
the stock to "buy" from "neutral", citing stable operating
metrics.
Agri-business firm Godrej Agrovet Ltd lost nearly 5% after
reporting
a 75% slide in net profit.
Shares of PTC India Ltd <PTCI.NS. and PTC India Financial Services Ltd lost 1% and 5%, respectively, after Reuters reported that the market regulator
issued
legal notices to the firms, demanding explanations of
alleged lapses in corporate governance.
On the earnings front, companies including Larsen & Toubro Ltd , Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd , Bosch Ltd , Godrej Consumer Products Ltd and Escorts Kubota Ltd are scheduled to report their quarterly results on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia
Cheema and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
