Mumbai, India (BBN) – Indian shares were little changed on Tuesday after snapping a six-session winning streak in the previous session as investors took a pause ahead of key economic growth and fiscal deficit data due later in the day.
Investors will be watching closely the gross domestic product (GDP) data to see if demand wilted in the final three months of last year following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise decision to ban high-value currency notes, reports The Hindu Business Line.
A Reuters poll of 30 economists taken over the past week showed economic growth slowed to 6.4 per cent annually in the October-December quarter.
“Only if growth falls below 5.5 per cent or rises above 6.5 per cent, would there be some need to re-assess India’s growth trajectory in the period ahead,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note.
Foreign capital outflows too affected the market sentiment. Foreign funds sold shares net of Rs. 145.55 crore yesterday as per the provisional data issued by stock exchanges.
The Sensex resumed higher at 28,825.19 and firmed up further to 28,876.54 on initial buying but fell afterwards to 28,790.22 before quoting at 28,804.05 at about 1:00pm, down 0.03 per cent.
The NSE 50-share Nifty eased by 6.40 points, or 0.07 per cent, to quote at 8,890.30.
Major losers were Coal India 2.45 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.28 per cent, TCS 1.24 per cent, ICICI Bank 0.84 per cent and NTPC 0.79 per cent.
Shares of Bharti Airtel rose as much as 4.9 per cent in morning trade after the telecom network operator said on Monday that it would scrap national roaming charges from April 1.
At about 1.10 pm, it was quoting at Rs. 362.80, up 2 per cent.
Other big gainers: M&M 1.25 per cent, Asian Paints 1.01 per cent, Lupin 0.69 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.61 per cent and Reliance 0.61 per cent.
The NSE Bank index was almost unchanged after snapping six consecutive sessions of gains in the previous session. Federal Bank was up 5.52 per cent, Bank of India Ltd climbed 2 per cent and YES Bank 1.12 per cent.
Idea Cellular Ltd declined as much as 4.8 per cent after Providence Equity Partners sold its 3.3 percent stake in the company. At abbout 1.10 pm, the stock was down 2.01 per cent or Rs. 2.30 at Rs. 112.25
Meanwhile, broader sentiment was positive on the back of gains on Wall Street as investors awaited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump later in the day for signals on tax reform and infrastructure spending.
“Overall, the domestic market has gained quite a bit in the last few sessions. With no major trigger due immediately, markets will be rangebound in the next couple of days,” said Siddharth Purohit, a senior research analyst with Angel Broking.
In the overseas market, most Asian shares rose today in early trade bolstered by gains on Wall Street as investors awaited a speech by US President Donald Trump for signals on tax reform and infrastructure spending.
US stocks pushed further into record territory on yesterday as the Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record high.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index also closed at a record high.
BBN/SK/AD