Sensex, Nifty flat in lacklustre trade

By Tanvi Mehta

REUTERS - Indian shares were largely flat on Tuesday amid weak Asian markets, and gains in energy stocks were offset by losses in financial and auto stocks.

The Nifty index was down 0.17 percent at 8,790.40 as of 0535 GMT, dragged down by auto and IT stocks.

The Sensex was 0.06 percent lower at 28,335.64.

Reliance Industries and GAIL were among the top gainers while Hero MotoCorp was among the top losers. Nifty Auto index, which has risen about 9 percent this year, was trading 0.54 percent lower.

Foreign institutional inflows have been subdued after the government decided to ban higher denomination notes on Nov. 8.

"There isn't much action driving the market at the moment ... It will take another quarter to recover (from demonetisation effect)," said Kaushik Mukherjee, Partner, BMR Legal.

Foreign investors have net purchased shares worth net $326.06 million so far this month and $319.67 million this year.. They had net bought stocks worth $2.90 billion in 2016, down from a net $3.27 billion invested in 2015.

The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 0.55 percent. It lost about 3 percent in the previous session.

State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp's shares fell as much as 3.5 percent in their biggest intraday percent drop since Dec. 15, 2016 after Dec-quarter average gross refining margin fell to $5.57 per barrel.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)