By Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -Indian shares were muted in early trade on Thursday, as losses in financials offset gains in IT stocks, while investors awaited Tata Consultancy Services to kick-off earnings season for blue-chip companies.
The Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex added 0.1% each to 25,071.3 and 81,853.01 points, respectively, as of 9:50 a.m. IST.
IT stocks rose 0.4%, adding to the sub-index’s 4.7% gains in the last five sessions.
Tata Consultancy Services, India’s No. 1 IT company, rose 0.2% ahead of its September quarter earnings report later in the day.
“The results season starting today will be keenly watched by the market. IT stocks have witnessed some recovery from the bottom, but the headwinds for the segment continue to be strong,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.
Seven of the 16 major sectors rose on the day. The broader mid-caps and small-caps advanced 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.
Meanwhile, financials fell 0.3% on second straight session of profit-booking following a recent rally, triggered by the RBI’s lending reforms and pre-earnings updates from banks.
Metal stocks added 1.6% and was the biggest gainer among major sectors as base metal prices rose on supply concerns from major mines, including Freeport’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia.
Supporting market sentiment, foreign portfolio investors snapped their 10-day selling streak this week, turning net buyers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Among individual stocks, drugmaker Lupin climbed 3.6% after announcing plans to set up a new pharmaceutical plant in the U.S.
Prestige Estates Projects added 3.5% on reporting 50% growth in second-quarter sales.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
