Indian shares erase early gains to trade slightly lower

Indian shares edged lower on Tuesday, with falls in energy stocks outweighing gains in the IT sector and an extended rally in public sector banks driven by corporate earnings optimism.

The markets gave up early gains to trade slightly lower in volatile trading.

The broader NSE index was down 0.1 per cent at 10,240.65 as of 0555 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index was 0.18 per cent lower at 34,007.02.

This follows a day of hefty gains, when both indexes closed at least 2.0 per cent higher, reports Reuters.

Heavyweight Reliance Industries, owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, weighed down the most on the index on Tuesday, with the stock falling as much as 2.2 per cent.

Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd fell as much as 4.8 per cent after the company’s September-quarter profit nearly halved, hurt by higher expenses on account of forex losses.

Meanwhile, financials continued to boost, with top lender State Bank of India adding to gains posted in the previous session, climbing as much as 2.9 per cent to a near three-week high.

A couple of banks have come out with a good set of results, so there is optimism on earnings growth in corporate banks, said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose as much as 3.1 per cent to its highest level since Sept. 21.

European stocks bounce back, China growth worries linger

Union Bank of India posted a surprise quarterly profit on Monday as it set aside lower provisions for bad loans. Shares of the state-run lender jumped 7.4 per cent in the current session.

The Indian rupee slipped to a one-week low of 73.628 against the dollar, boosting software services exporters such as Infosys Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The Nifty IT index rose as much as 2.2 per cent. Infosys climbed 2.7 per cent, while TCS advanced 1.8 per cent.