Sensex, Nifty edge lower; L&T Infotech falls on market debut

REUTERS - The NSE Nifty edged lower on Thursday after hitting its strongest close in nearly a year in the previous session as caution prevailed ahead of corporate results and investors awaited progress on the GST bill.

Miner Hindustan Zinc Ltd fell nearly 3 percent after posting a 47 percent fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday, while Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd fell as much as 6 percent on its market debut.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC Ltd, Hindalco Industries and Cairn India Ltd are expected to report their quarterly results on Thursday.

HDFC Bank, India's second-biggest private sector lender by assets, reported a 20 percent rise in quarterly profit, in line with analysts' estimates.

Investors are also waiting to see whether the government can pass a revamped goods and services tax bill in the ongoing parliament session.

But overall, analysts said markets would likely retain their positive tone, with the NSE index up 3.4 percent this month as of Wednesday's close, its fifth consecutive monthly gain.

"Last couple of days we've been going below 8,500 and managing to close above 8,500. So that's a positive takeaway for markets," said Gaurang Shah, vice president at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, referring to the Nifty.

The broader Nifty was down 0.16 percent at8,553.05 as of 0700 GMT, after posting its highest close since Aug. 6 on Wednesday.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.33 percent lower at 27,823.41.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech was trading at 705.25 rupees, down from its IPO price of 710 rupees, as its debut was marred by concerns about the outlook for the software services exports sector after some disappointing earnings this month.

Among gainers, Ambuja Cements rose as much as 2.18 percent to its highest in more than a year after the company received government nod to buy 24 percent of its holding company Holcim (India) Pvt Ltd, paving way for restructuring of Ambuja parent LafargeHolcim's India assets.

LafargeHolcim's majority-owned ACC Ltd rose as much as 5.3 percent and was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)