Sensex little changed; Reliance, Tata Motors fall

By Krishna V Kurup

REUTERS - Indian shares were nearly unchanged on Friday, with refiners such as Reliance Industries Ltd tumbling as oil prices gained overnight and Tata Motors Ltd down after it said its British unit faced intensifying competition.

Oil prices rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday, supported by supply cuts from major exporters as well as continuing concerns over political developments in Saudi Arabia.

"Political tensions amidst emerging power struggle in the Middle East is responsible for the rise in crude oil prices," Axis Securities' analysts said in an email to Reuters. "As a result, oil marketing companies are trading lower."

The broader NSE Nifty was 0.04 percent lower at 10,305 as of 0551 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was flat at 33,253.76. The NSE index was on track to end 1.40 percent down this week, while the BSE index was on track to lose 1.3 percent.

The Nifty energy index fell 0.7 percent, with Reliance Industries down 1.3 percent and Hindustan Petroleum Corp 1.5 percent lower.

Tata Motors Ltd dropped as much as 3.2 pct after it said it expects sales for its flagship British unit Jaguar Land Rover to soften in the United Kingdom and the United States due to challenge from competing carmakers.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd fell 3.9 percent, despite a better-than-expected 29 percent increase in second quarter profit. Analysts said positive sales growth did not translate into strong profit due to weaker-than-expected gross margins and EBITDA margins.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd, however, gained 3.8 percent and was the top gainer on both the indexes, after its unit L&T Construction won orders worth 40.23 billion rupees ($618.80 million).

($1 = 65.0125 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)