By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks were little changed on Wednesday as gains in energy shares, driven by ONGC and oil marketing companies on an improved earnings outlook, offset a drop in consumer stocks.
The Nifty 50 was up 0.15% at 23,774 points, as of 10:47 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex traded 0.06% lower at 78,539.29.
Both the Nifty and Sensex advanced 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively, on Tuesday, logging their best session in a month to turn positive so far in 2025.
While the benchmarks were muted on the day, the broader markets extended gains from the prior session. The smallcaps and midcaps jumped 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively.
Energy and state-owned firms <.NIFTYPSE> gained about 1.5% each, with ONGC leading the charge following an improved production outlook for fiscal year 2025-28. This resulted in Macquarie upgrading the stock to “outperform” from “neutral”.
Oil marketing companies BPCL and HPCL rose 3.4% each after Goldman Sachs upgraded them to “buy” from “neutral”, citing improved earnings outlook for the companies.
“Markets are anticipating an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of India, which will lower capital costs and fuel economic expansion. This expectation is keeping sentiment positive despite global trade uncertainty,” said A Balasubramanian, managing director and CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC.
The RBI is expected to deliver a 25 basis-point rate cut on Friday, supporting a growth revival following the announcement of personal tax cuts.
Consumer stocks shed 1% on Wednesday, taking their three-session losses to about 3% and erasing the gains made on Feb. 1, when the annual budget was unveiled.
Among individual stocks, Asian Paints lost 4% after the paint maker missed third-quarter profit view.
Tata Power gained 3.5% after posting a higher December-quarter profit.
($1 = 87.1530 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sonia Cheema)
