Sensex, Nifty Flat As Reliance, HDFC Bank Offset Losses In Consumer Stocks
Indian shares were little changed on Thursday after scaling record highs at the open, as gains in heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries offset weakness in consumer and technology stocks.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.08% to 13,693 by 0357 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was flat at 46,668.92. Both the indexes have now hit record highs in 18 of 27 sessions.
The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday added India to a list of countries it says may be deliberately devaluing their currencies against the dollar.
In Mumbai trading, Hero MotoCorp rose 0.6% after India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer by sales said on Wednesday that it would be increasing the prices of its products by up to 1,500 rupees from January.
Shares of sugar companies Avadh Sugar & Energy, Bajaj Hindustan Sugar, Balrampur Chini Mills, Dhampur Sugar Mills and Rana Sugars rose between 1.7% and 6.6%.
India's cabinet on Wednesday approved a subsidy of 35 billion rupees ($476.04 million) to encourage sugar exports.
Conglomerate Reliance Industries and lender HDFC Bank were among the top boosts to the Nifty 50, rising 1% and 0.2%, respectively.
Broader Asian markets were perched near record highs on progress towards a U.S. stimulus package and after the U.S. Federal Reserve repeated its promise to keep interest rates low.
(Reuters)
