India's benchmark stock indices closed little changed on the first day of the week due to a lack of any major triggers, even as market participants await first-quarter earnings to give direction to the market. Gains in the shares of ITC Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. offset the fall in HDFC Bank Ltd. and Titan Co., keeping the indices subdued.
Both the Nifty and Sensex ended little changed at 24,320.55 and 79,960.38, respectively. Intraday, both fell around 0.3%.
"The market is turning to a consolidation phase due to the absence of major triggers to support the current premium valuation in the near term, prompting investors to book some profits," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. He added that with stable input prices and ongoing price cuts, the margin expansion period appears to be concluding, which is likely to affect earnings and valuations.
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Shares of ITC Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Oil & Natural Gas Ltd., and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. contributed the most to the Nifty 50.
But those of HDFC Bank Ltd., Titan Co. Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and Divi's Laboratories Ltd. weighed on the index.
Most sectoral indices ended lower, with Nifty PSU Bank being the top loser.
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Broader indices underperformed their major peers, with the S&P BSE Midcap ending with 0.14% losses and the S&P BSE Smallcap closing 0.22% lower on Monday.
Thirteen out of the 20 sectoral indices on the BSE ended lower. S&P BSE FMCG was the top gainer.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. Around 2,254 stocks advanced, 1,804 rose, and 111 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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