Indian shares end flat as investors book profits after sharp rally

BENGALURU: Indian shares ended flat on Tuesday, recovering from a bout of profit booking earlier in the session following a record-setting rally over the past few weeks, while a fall in shares of Reliance weighed on the indexes.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.07pc higher at 13,567.85 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.02pc higher at 46,263.17.

"We saw some profit taking coming in, and then in the later half we saw some recovery in the market," said Ajit Mishra, vice president, research at Religare Broking. "What it indicates largely is that bulls are still in control," he added.

Both indexes have rallied sharply on record inflows from foreign institutional investors and progress on COVID-19 vaccines.

"Despite the kind of rally we have seen in the last six weeks, we are still not seeing any major correction in the market as such," Mishra said.

Reliance Industries closed 0.9pc lower and was the top drag on the Nifty 50.

The company's telecom division has asked the Indian telecoms regulator to take action against rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for allegedly running a false propaganda campaign.

Airtel ended 0.2pc higher and Vodafone Idea fell 1.5pc.

Meanwhile, government data on Monday showed November's annual retail inflation eased to 6.93pc after holding above 7pc for two consecutive months.

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's projected India's real GDP for the current fiscal year to shrink 7.7pc from the 9pc contraction it expected earlier.

In other stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank ended 0.6pc higher. The lender said on Monday the central bank had approved the re-appointment of Uday Kotak as managing director and chief executive officer.

Burger King India closed 20pc higher a day after the company's shares more than doubled in their market debut.

Global markets were little changed as rising COVID-19 cases and social restrictions offset vaccine optimism.