India’s benchmark equity index fluctuates

Bloomberg

India’s benchmark equity index swung between gains and losses as banks and telecom stocks offset the boost provided by software exporters.
The S&P BSE sensex was little changed at 37,976.18 after swinging between gains of as much as 0.7% and a decline of 0.3%, as of 10:56 am in Mumbai. The NSE Nifty 50 Index was also steady. The last two sessions of gains have helped trim both gauges’ first monthly losses since May, with overseas investors remaining net sellers of local stocks after four consecutive months of buying.
“In the absence of major cues, it appears to be a traders’ market,” said Chokkalingam G, chief investment officer at Equinomics Research & Advisory Ltd. in Mumbai. “Investors should trade cautiously and book profits wherever they can.”
India’s government is likely to unveil its borrowing plan for the second half of the year on Wednesday, while the central bank has yet to reschedule a policy meeting that had been scheduled to start on Tuesday.
The rupee was little changed at 73.8150 per US dollar, while the yield on 10-year government bonds was steady at 6.06 percent.
Eleven of 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. rise, led by a 1.3% gain in a gauge of metal companies. A measure of telecom stocks was the worst performer, falling 2.3% as Bharti Airtel Ltd. weighed.
ICICI Bank Ltd. was the biggest drag on the Sensex, declining 1.6% while Reliance Industries Ltd. provided the biggest boost to the index, advancing 1.1%