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The Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note as caution prevailed ahead of corporate results due later this month. Indian shares started off the new year on a weak footing, after ending 2017 with their biggest annual gains in three, as investors braced for corporate results, including from Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys Ltd next week.
Traders also remained wary ahead of release of minutes from Federal Reserve's December meeting on Wednesday.
The government is gearing up to unveil its 2018/19 budget in early February, which will be followed by the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting. “Markets could be subdued because of upcoming domestic events,” said Gaurang Shah, head investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex closed down 0.49 point or 0.00 per cent at 33,812.26 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended up 6.65 points or 0.06 per cent at 10,442.20.
Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas index fell the most by 0.51 per cent, followed by FMCG 0.42 per cent, PSU and infrastructure 0.34 per cent each. On the other hand, auto index was up 0.15 per cent, power 0.13 per cent and metal 0.05 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Motors (+3.16%), ONGC (+2.36%), Coal India (+1.46%), NTPC (+1.19%) and IndusInd Bank (+1.15%), while the major losers were Bharti Airtel (-2.24%), State Bank of India (-1.35%), Maruti (-1.24%), L&T (-1.01%) and Hero MotoCorp (-0.92%).
Oil marketing companies fell as crude prices gained. Brent crude futures hit $67.27 a barrel, their highest since May 2015, amid large anti-government rallies in Iran and ongoing supply cuts led by OPEC and Russia. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd was down 1.98 per cent, while Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd lost 2.12 per cent.
As per provisional data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) had net bought shares worth Rs 325.91 crore yesterday and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also bought equities to the tune of Rs 1,300.31 crore.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 per cent to heights last visited in 2007, having risen by one-third in value last year. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday but E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.15 per cent.
Shanghai blue-chips climbed 1 per cent after the Caixin index of Chinese industry rose to a four-month high of 51.5 in December, confounding forecasts for a decline.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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