Nifty, Sensex flat as financials offset IT gains

Indian shares were largely unchanged on Thursday, with gains in IT stocks offset by losses in financials, as investors awaited fresh cues before making new bets.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.08 per cent to 12,211.50 as on 0400 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex index was down 0.09 per cent at 41,515.96.

Shares in broader Asia pulled away from multi-month highs, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipping 0.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, investors are also weighing a decision by US House of Representatives to impeach US President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

But global market reaction to the development so far has been limited as the Senate is widely expected not to vote to remove Trump from office.

In India, sentiments were also dampened by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council's decision on Wednesday to leave tax rates unchanged, as the markets were hoping for a rate cut.

The rupee strengthened by 0.06 per cent to 70.98 against the dollar, while the benchmark 10-year bond yield opened at 6.7160 per cent, versus the previous close of 6.7103 per cent.

The biggest laggard on the NSE index was Yes Bank Ltd, which slipped over 2 per cent.

The Nifty PSU Bank index, which tracks the country's state-run lenders, slipped 0.6 per cent, with 10 of the 12 stocks on the index trading in the red.

The Nifty IT index rose as much as 0.67 per cent, with HCL Technologies gaining over 1.5 per cent.

Shares in Tata Group companies eked out gains a day after Cyrus Mistry, who had been embroiled in a legal battle with the Group since being ousted in 2016, won backing from a tribunal to be reinstated as executive chairman of its holding company.

Shares of both Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors rose over 1 per cent.