BENGALURU: Indian shares were little changed on Wednesday as profit booking continued with the benchmark indexes hovering near record highs, while the markets regulator’s proposals to curb the heightened trading in options weighed on brokerages.
The NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.1% to 24,883.55 points as of 9:53 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.08% to 81,519.05. The Nifty hit a record high of 24,999.75 on Monday but has since struggled as investors booked profits.
“The level of 25,000 is proving to be tough to cross for Nifty 50. We expect range-bound action and a bit of profit-taking to continue,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
Brokerage such as Angel One, 5Paisa, SMC Global fell between 2% and 2.5% after the markets regulator announced proposals to curb the heightened activity in the options markets, which would impact trading volumes.
Eight of the 13 sectors logged gains.
Public sector companies rose 0.6%, helped by a 5% rise in GAIL after its quarterly profit beat analysts’ expectations.
Torrent Power jumped 11% after reporting a rise in its first-quarter profit.
Indian shares close flat as profit-booking continues
The stock was the top gainer in mid-cap index, which rose 0.6%.
Information technology companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the US, were little changed ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
While the Fed is expected to maintain a rate pause, dovish commentary could boost sentiment and spur a rally in Indian markets.
Traders are pricing in Fed rate cuts from September.
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