Sensex flat as tariff tussle continues; TCS hits record high

By Krishna V Kurup

(Reuters) - Indian shares were flat on Wednesday as worsening trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies hurt sentiment, while Tata Consultancy Services Ltd hit an all-time high a day after the company posted a record quarterly net profit.

Broader Asian shares fell due to a sell-off in Chinese markets after the United States threatened to slap 10 percent tariff on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods pushing the two economies ever closer to a full-scale trade war.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.2 percent.

The broader NSE Nifty was 0.03 percent lower at 10,944.35 as of 0618 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex inched down 0.02 percent to 36,233.89.

"Global markets will continue to remain an important factor for our market," said Dhananjay Sinha, head of institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services.

"With respect to corporate earnings, the numbers might look somewhat better than last year's," he added.

India's biggest software services exporter, TCS, posted a record net profit in June quarter driven by strong growth in its Banking, Financial Services and Insurance unit.

The Nifty IT index rose 1.3 percent led by TCS, up as much as 3.6 percent.

Among the gainers, PNB Housing Finance Ltd surged 6.4 percent after it said on Tuesday Punjab National Bank and Quality Investment Holdings, an arm of global private equity investor Carlyle Group LP, are selling their stakes in the company.

Shares of IDBI Bank Ltd rose nearly 10 percent on reports Life Insurance Corporation of India's planned acquisition of a majority stake in the state-run bank may trigger an open offer and preferential allotment.

Meanwhile, metal stocks took a beating with shares of copper and zinc producers falling as much as 2.9 to 4.3 percent after metal prices slumped to their lowest in about a year.

Nifty metal index slipped 3 percent, with Hindalco Industries Ltd and Hindustan Zinc Ltd falling 3.5 and 4 percent, respectively.

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)