Sensex, Nifty inch higher; Bajaj Auto gains

By Krishna V Kurup

(Reuters) - Indian shares looked set to snap a five-session losing streak on Tuesday, but gains were limited as the political situation in Karnataka continued to be fluid, while investors awaited quarterly numbers from State Bank of India and Cipla Ltd due later in the day.

The broader NSE Nifty inched up 0.1 percent to 10,527.10 as of 0557 GMT while the benchmark BSE Sensex edged 0.07 percent higher to 34,639.68.

"What we are seeing is a bounce from oversold levels. What is not evident, if you look at the index, is the amount of carnage that has happened in the mid-caps, small-caps and even the large-caps," said Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer at Sanctum Wealth Management, adding that Monday's was a knee-jerk reaction to the Karnataka election news.

"Today is the realisation that it is not all bad from a market perspective. Also, corporate earnings are providing support to market," he added.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd gained 0.9 percent while Bajaj Auto Ltd, up 3 percent, was among the top percentage gainer on both the indexes.

Petronet LNG Ltd rose as much as 2.8 percent after posting an 11 percent rise in quarterly profit on Monday.

Ahead of the results, shares in State Bank of India fell 0.9 percent, while Cipla slipped 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, oil marketing companies such as Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC), which are also expected to report results later in the day, fell as much as 3.07 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, as oil prices hovered near multi-year highs.

Real estate developer DLF Ltd's shares fell to their lowest in over 6 months after posting a 38 percent plunge in fourth-quarter revenue from operations.

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)