Indian shares end flat on caution ahead of key data, earnings rush

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By Bharath Rajeswaran

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares were little changed on Tuesday, after financials sparked a sharp rise in the previous session, amid a rush of corporate earnings and ahead of key macroeconomic data.

The Nifty 50 closed 0.01% higher at 18,265.95, while the S&P BSE Sensex shed 3 points to end at 61,761.33. Both the indexes had risen over 0.4% during the session.

Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes declined, with the high-weightage financials falling 0.15%. Bank and public sector bank indexes also logged 0.2% and 2.75% losses, respectively.

Among individual stocks, shares of natural gas distribution company Mahanagar Gas Ltd jumped 7.43% on upbeat fourth-quarter profit after tax.

Mankind Pharma Ltd surged over 31% on its stock market debut. Global brokerage firm Macquarie initiated coverage with an "outperform" rating ahead of its listing, citing sales outperformance and improved productivity as growth drivers.

Meanwhile, agri-chemicals maker UPL Ltd lost nearly 3% on reporting a quarterly slide in profit due to a sharp uptick in costs. The stock was among the top Nifty 50 losers.

Indian shares logged their best session in a little over a month on Monday. Since the beginning of the financial year 2024, the benchmark has risen over 5%.

"The recent rally has been triggered by a reasonably stable results season, barring a few sectors like information technology and consumer durables, as well as the return of foreign investors," said George Thomas, fund manager for equity at Quantum Asset Management Company.

Analysts expect the benchmark to witness consolidation in the near term, ahead of the domestic retail inflation data for April, due on Friday.

Global equities were subdued on caution ahead of U.S. consumer price data due on Wednesday. The data is coming close on the heels of a robust U.S. April jobs report that assesses the future rate trajectory of the Federal Reserve and its monetary tightening policy.

($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Sohini Goswami)