Sensex, Nifty consolidate gains; global growth uncertainty lingers

REUTERS - Indian shares swung between gains and losses on Thursday as markets took a breather after recent gains, but worries over global economic growth stagnation continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Indian shares had rallied for six out of seven sessions as of Tuesday despite Britain's vote to leave the European Union last month, given the optimism about the domestic economy and on expectations global central banks will expand their monetary easing.

But concerns about instability in the EU remain, and market experts say a minor correction could be in the offing in Indian markets given stock valuations may not have much more room to expand from current levels.

The benchmark index is valued at 19.4 times its estimated 12-month earnings, versus a multiple of 12.84 for the Thomson Reuters Emerging Markets Asia Pacific Index.

"I think markets have shown great resilience after the Brexit vote and it's a mere pause that we are seeing now. If markets do fall further from here on valuation worries, that would be a good buying opportunity," said Gautam Sinha Roy, a fund manager at Motilal Oswal Asset Management, which has about 111 billion rupees in assets under management.

At 0736 GMT, the Nifty was down 0.05 percent at 8,331.50, while the Sensex rose 0.12 percent to 27,200.15. The markets was closed for a public holiday on Wednesday.

Among the gainers, Punjab National Bank jumped 3.07 percent after its unit PNB Housing Finance filed for a 25-billion-rupee initial public offer.

Claris Lifesciences surged 7.3 percent after the pharmaceutical company received the Abbreviated New Drug Application approval for Tobramycin injection on Wednesday.

Insecticides (India) rose 1.8 percent after it entered into an agreement with U.S.-based Momentive Performance Materials for getting the product 'Agrosprec Max' on an exclusive basis for India.

However, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Bharti Infratel fell 2 percent each on profit-booking. Adani Ports has gained nearly 5 percent in the previous two sessions while Bharti Infratel has risen 10.5 percent in the past seven sessions.

(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)