Indian shares ended little changed on Tuesday, retreating from record highs hit earlier in the session, as investors booked profits even as rising confidence in the domestic economy and rate-cut hopes boosted firms such as Larsen & Toubro. Investors preferred shares of domestically-focused companies to those in export-driven firms such as Infosys Ltd.
They hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a slew of reforms including goods and services tax and changes in land acquisition laws. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut interest rates as early as in February, helping spur economic growth. Underlying sentiment also remained robust on continued foreign buying. Overseas investors bought shares worth 6.56 billion rupees ($106.28 million) on Monday, bringing their total purchase in stocks to $15.35 billion so far in 2014.
"Indexes are consolidating. Defensives are being de-selected in the portfolio while old economy stocks are gaining on rate-cut hopes," said Deven Choksey, managing director at K R Choksey Securities. The BSE index rose as much as 0.37 percent to an all-time high of 28,282.85 before ending down 0.05 percent. The NSE index closed 0.06 percent lower after hitting a record high of 8,454.50. Domestic economy-driven shares led gains. L&T advanced 1.8 percent, while HDFC Bank rose 1.4 percent.
Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 2 percent, while IDFC gained 3.1 percent. Exporters fell on portfolio churning. Infosys dropped 0.9 percent, while Tata Consultancy Services lost 1.2 percent. Power Grid Corporation of India rose 1.1 percent, while Punjab National Bank ended up 2 percent.
Among drug exporters, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries lost 1.9 percent, while Cipla ended 0.9 percent lower. Shares of jewellery companies also fell after the central bank said it was discussing increasing restrictions on gold imports. Titan Company Ltd fell 1.1 percent, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Ltd lost 2.3 percent and Shree Ganesh Jewellery House ended down 2.7 percent.
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