By Ashutosh Joshi
MUMBAI--Indian stocks ended flat Thursday as investors avoided
taking fresh positions on the settlement of June derivatives.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensitive Index gained
23.00 points, or 0.1%, to 16,990.76. The National Stock Exchange's
broader Nifty index ended 7.25 points, or 0.1%, higher at
5,149.15.
Trading volume at the BSE's cash segment rose to 42.76 billion
rupees from Wednesday's INR15.60 billion, as HSBC Holdings sold its
4.73% stake in Axis Bank. Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,461 to
1,312, while 127 stocks remained unchanged.
Sentiment in local markets was similar to most of Asia, where
stocks ended mixed. Asian markets opened higher, helped by some
encouraging economic data from the U.S. overnight, but later
moderated ahead of a summit of European leaders that starts later
Thursday.
Daljeet Kohli, head of research at brokerage firm IndiaNivesh
Securities, said investors in India are awaiting decisions on
reforms by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who now holds the finance
portfolio.
He said that if the prime minister reviews some tax policies in
next few weeks, as some media reports indicated, it will be a major
trigger.
Consumer-goods maker ITC gained 1.5% to INR251.45, due mainly to
defensive buying.
State-run utility NTPC was up 1.5% at INR157.25, while Tata
Power rose 1.3% to INR98.95 after New Delhi's electricity regulator
Wednesday approved higher tariffs in India's capital.
Reliance Industries lost 0.5% to INR719.35, while State Bank of
India fell 0.9% to INR2,095.45.
Write to Ashutosh Joshi at ashutosh.joshi@dowjones.com