Sensex edges up; investors turn cautious ahead of quarterly results

REUTERS - Indian shares rose marginally on Thursday after falling earlier in the session as investors remained watchful ahead of quarterly corporate results and an expected government announcement on who would take over as the country's next central bank chief.

Markets have been on edge ahead of the appointment of the next Reserve Bank of India governor, with local media reporting it could come as early as this week ahead of the start of a new parliament session on Monday.

India earlier this week reported consumer inflation rose to 5.77 percent in June, increasing the odds of the central bank keeping interest rates on hold next month.

Data on Thursday showed India's wholesale prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace in June on higher food prices.

"There are not many factors left for markets to react to immediately, hence market is taking a breather now and we see some amount of consolidation," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of research at SMC Global Securities.

The Nifty was 0.2 percent higher after falling as much as 0.2 percent. The index hit an 11-month high on Wednesday.

The Sensex gained 0.1 percent after declining as much as 0.2 percent.

Bank stocks recovered from losses on Thursday, with Punjab National Bank up as much as 5.3 percent and Yes Bank gaining as much as 0.8 percent.

Jewellery makers such as Titan Company and Gitanjali Gems rose as the government relaxed excise duty rules.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd were up marginally ahead of results later in the day. Infosys Ltd fell as much as 1.2 percent after ending higher in the last four sessions ahead of results on Friday.

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd lost as much as 2.4 percent on worries growing competition would eat into its market share.

(Reporting by Samantha Kareen Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)