Sensex listless ahead of derivatives expiry

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian stocks see-sawed between positive and negative territory on Wednesday as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines a day ahead of the December derivatives contracts expiry.

Caution continued to weigh on sentiment with traders expected to churn positions as the January futures and options series begins on Friday.

Investors are now looking towards the second week of January for signs of a recovery in corporate balance sheets.

"Second week of Jan, since you have earnings season unfolding, you'll see some meaningful volumes happening as well," Gaurang Shah, vice president at Geojit BNP Paribas said.

The broader NSE Nifty was trading 0.02 percent higher at 0753 GMT while the benchmark BSE Sensex slipped marginally to trade 0.01 percent lower.

Among frontline stocks, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories , India's second-largest drugmaker by sales, gained over 2 percent after the company relaunched its generic form of Nexium in the United States after changing the pill's colour.

Shares in Housing Development Finance Corp rose 0.42 percent after Standard Life received approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to increase its stake in HDFC Life Insurance to 35 percent from 26 percent.

United Spirits fell over 2 percent after the company sought shareholders' nod to report sick to the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.

(Reporting by Karen Rebelo in Mumbai; Editing by Anand Basu)