By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark shares closed flat on Wednesday as gains in public sector banks following State Bank of India’s fundraise approval offset losses in metal stocks due to a stronger dollar on rising U.S. inflation.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.06% to 25,212.05, while the Sensex gained 0.08% to 82,634.48.
Both benchmarks fell about 0.2% during the session, before erasing losses in afternoon trade.
Asian peers inched lower, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan index dropping 0.3% after data showed a modest rise in U.S. inflation, dampening hopes of imminent rate cuts and posing risks for capital flows into emerging markets such as India. [MKTS/GLOB]
“Markets have had a strong run from March to June. But with uncertainty around the U.S.-India trade deal and mixed signals from the earnings season, we expect benchmarks to remain range-bound in the near term,” said Amnish Aggarwal, director of research, institutional equities at PL Capital.
Global brokerage Bernstein echoed that view, retaining its year-end Nifty target of 26,500 — about 5% above current levels — and forecasting short-term consolidation.
Nine of the 13 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps traded flat.
The PSU Bank index climbed 1.8%, led by about 2% gain in SBI, which approved raising up to 200 billion rupees via bonds for fiscal 2026.
The metal index fell 0.5% after the U.S. dollar rose. A stronger dollar makes commodities costlier for holders of other currencies. [MET/L]
Among individual stocks, ITC Hotels surged 4.5% after reporting a quarterly profit rise.
Network18 Media & Investments climbed 13.3%, lifting the media index 1.3% higher, after it reported turning a profit following 12 quarters of losses.
HDB Financial lost 3.1% after posting a profit drop in the June quarter, hurt by higher bad loan provisions.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
