Sensex, Nifty nudge up; IT stocks down

By Shivam Srivastava

(Reuters) - Indian shares rose a wee bit on Monday as gains in financials on positive corporate results offset losses in IT stocks, which were down on weak sentiment and after software services exporter Infosys Ltd cut its revenue outlook.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.05 percent at 8,404.60 as of 0540 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.14 percent higher at 27,276.75.

"Financials are up because three bank results have come out and they have been good. There is weak sentiment with regard to IT stocks as investors wait for further clarity on Trump policies and after Infosys' quarterly results that weren't very good," said Mahantesh Marilinga, senior research analyst, Finquest Securities.

All eyes will be on U.S. Preseident-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday for any clarity on his economic plans.

Infosys Ltd, India's second-biggest software services exporter, pared full-year revenue growth outlook on Friday, as it fights uncertainties in its biggest markets that could curb client spending on technology.

"IT stocks' valuations are already quite cheap and the downside is limited, but don't expect them to outperform," Marilinga said.

The Nifty IT index was down as much as 1.23 percent, with losses led by HCL Technologies which was down 1.82 percent, followed by Infosys, which fell 1.65 percent.

Among gainers, State Bank of India rose 1.12 percent, followed by HDFC bank which was 0.39 percent higher.

The Nifty Bank index was up as much as 0.47 percent, its highest since Nov. 21, 2016.

In Asia, regional share markets were hesitant, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.5 percent, while Japan's Nikkei was 0.6 percent lower and Shanghai shed 1.4 percent.

(Reporting by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)