The Sensex and Nifty ended unchanged on Wednesday, pausing after two sessions of gains that drove indexes to near 11-month highs, as investors opted for caution ahead of quarterly results.
Uncertainty also prevailed in the market as investors await the government's announcement on the next central bank governor after a local media reported that the candidate's name could be out this week.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended up 7.04 points or 0.03 per cent at 27,815.18 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended down 1.55 points or 0.02 per cent at 8,519.50.
Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index was the star-performer and was up 1.83 per cent, IT 0.96 per cent, TECk 0.75 per cent and oil & gas 0.36 per cent. On the other hand, realty index fell the most by 2.08 per cent, power 0.88 per cent, consumer durables 0.81 per cent and auto 0.67 per cent.
Major Sensex gainers were Tata Steel (+4.47%), GAIL (+3.09%), ONGC (+3.01%), Coal India (+2%) and Infosys (+1.46%), while the major losers were PowerGrid (-2.85%), Lupin (-1.38%), L&T (1.2%), Maruti (-1.14%) and Asian Paints (-0.9%).
Banks were among the biggest losers, with major public sector banks dragging the Nifty Bank Index down 0.29 per cent after rallying 3.6 percent in the previous two sessions.
YES Bank Ltd fell as much as 1.4 per cent, Axis Bank Ltd declined up to 1.76 per cent, and IndusInd Bank Ltd lost as much as 1.98 per cent.
Meanwhile, oil stocks rallied on reports the government had approved a 25 paise hike in kerosene prices per month until April 2017.
Dairy food processor Kwality Ltd gained 6.1 per cent on a $77.43 million capital commitment from KKR, while Bharat Heavy Electricals hit a near six-month high on report of a new power plant deal.
Retail inflation
Meanwhile, soaring food prices drove headline inflation to its highest level in nearly two years in June, increasing the odds of the central bank keeping interest rates on hold next month.
“Traders are booking profits as we move into the earnings season, where broad-based moves are expected to be replaced by sector-specific moves,” said Anand James, chief market analyst at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
A report by SMC Global said: " Asian stocks climbed for a third day, tracking a rally in global equities, as Japanese shares erased their Brexit losses after the yen extended declines, while commodity producers rose with oil. Overnight, US stocks closed higher as fears eased over Brexit and Japan signalled more economic stimulus. US wholesale inventories inched up by 0.1 per cent in May following an upwardly revised 0.7 per cent advance in April. Economists had expected wholesale inventories to edge up by 0.2 per cent compared to the 0.6 per cent increase originally reported for the previous month."