(Reuters) -Indian shares opened little changed on Tuesday, with lacklustre earnings and sustained foreign selling weighing on markets, while caution over the escalating Middle East conflict dragged global equities lower overnight.
The NSE Nifty 50 opened 0.07% higher at 24,798.65 points as of 9:20 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex was up 0.1% at 81,253 points.
Seven of the 13 major sectoral indexes declined at the open, but the losses were marginal.
The broader, more domestically focussed small-caps mid-caps fell 1% and 0.3%, respectively.
India’s No. 2 carmaker Hyundai Motor India will be in focus as it makes its stock market debut.
The $3.3 billion initial public offering, at an issue price of 1,960 rupees, was oversubscribed by more than two times last week.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Housing Finance rose 2%. The country’s most valuable home loan financier reported a rise in second-quarter profit on strong credit demand.
City Union Bank gained 10% after posting rise in quarterly profit.
Domestic equities have witnessed profit taking since hitting record high levels on Sept. 27.
Dull earnings and foreign flows directed from India to China on the recently-announced stimulus measures and relatively cheaper valuations also weighed on the market.
Foreign outflows from Indian equities continued for the 16th consecutive session on Monday.
Asian markets opened lower on the day, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index dropping 0.5%. Wall Street equities logged losses overnight as caution loomed on rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
While markets remained largely risk-averse due to uncertainty over U.S. presidential elections and demand recovery in China, safe haven asset gold hit record highs. [MKTS/GLOB]
($1 = 84.0720 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
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