Sensex, Nifty little changed as caution prevails ahead of RBI meeting

By Darshana Sankararaman

REUTERS - Indian shares were little changed on Monday after two straight sessions of falls as sentiment remained subdued ahead of a Reserve Bank of India policy review on Wednesday and as a slump in the euro hit broader Asian markets.

Sentiment globally was hit after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign following heavy defeat on constitutional referendum, raising political uncertainty in the euro zone.

In India, the RBI is expected to cut interest rates at its monetary policy meeting after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's currency crackdown rattled the economy, according to a Reuters poll.

"The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) is expected to cut rates largely because they have got sufficient amount of liquidity into the system," said Deven Choksey, managing director, KR Choksey Securities.

"Unless they (RBI) bring down the rate of interest, the credit offtake will remain sluggish," he said, adding it would be more appropriate to cut the rate sharply.

The broader NSE index was down 0.06 percent at 8,081.85 by 0548 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index was 0.08 percent lower at 26,209.11.

Financial stocks fell the most, led by Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd, which shed up to 4.34 percent. The stock was the biggest percentage loser on the NSE index.

The Nifty IT index dropped 1.07 percent and was down for a third straight session. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Wipro Ltd led the losses, with a fall of more than 1 percent each.

Meanwhile, auto companies such as Maruti Suzuki Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd gained, and were up over 1.50 percent each.

(Reporting by Darshana Sankararaman in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)