Sensex little changed; Infosys still reels under CEO exit

By Arnab Paul

REUTERS - Indian shares were little changed in lacklustre trade on Monday as gains in metal stocks such as Vedanta Ltd on the back of a price rally in London offset an extended slump in market heavyweight Infosys Ltd.

Infosys shed as much as 4.56 percent following Friday's about 10 percent plunge after Vishal Sikka resigned as the chief executive and managing director on the back of a fall-out with the company's founders. Multiple brokerages, including Nomura, downgraded the stock.

"Difficult to gauge when Infosys shares will see a recovery," said Pankaj Kapoor, executive director of India IT services and software equity research at JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd.

"There are too many uncertainties surrounding the company now."

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.04 percent at 9,841.6 as of 0615 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 0.02 percent higher at 31,517.80.

The Nifty Metal index rose over 2 percent with Vedanta rising as much as 2.7 percent and Hindalco Industries Ltd gaining up to 2.8 percent.

London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc rose about 1 percent to its highest in almost a decade, while copper rose as much as 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, shares of Infosys' rivals advanced. Tata Consultancy Services rose 1.2 percent after gaining 1.1 percent on Friday.

(Reporting By Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)