By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes settled flat on Thursday as caution prevailed amid monthly derivatives settlements and ahead of the release of GDP data on Friday, with investors waiting for signs of a pickup in economic activity.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.01% to 22,545.05, while the BSE Sensex closed 0.01% higher at 74,612.43.
The indexes swung between 0.3% gains and 0.2% losses during the session, during which the February derivatives contracts expired.
The Nifty 50 index has fallen about 14% from record highs hit in late September and is on course for its longest monthly losing streak since 1996.
“The market is likely to remain range-bound even on Friday. We may see some directional moves on Monday based on the GDP data and global news flow,” said Anita Gandhi, founder and head of institutional business at Arihant Capital Markets.
India’s GDP, due after markets close on Friday, likely rebounded in the December quarter, after growing at an unexpectedly slower pace in seven quarters in July-September, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Nine of the 13 major sectors fell, while heavyweight financials rose 0.6% on the central bank dialing back tighter norms on bank loans for small borrowers and non-bank lenders.
Shriram Finance and AU Small Finance Bank jumped about 6% each and were among the biggest percentage gainers in the Nifty 500 index.
Heavyweight HDFC Bank rose 1.1% and was the biggest boost for the Nifty 50.
Meanwhile, automobile stocks fell around 1.5% after rising for two straight sessions.
UltraTech Cement dropped 4.7% after announcing an unexpected foray into the wires and cables business, which analysts said could spur capital allocation risks. This also hit other wire companies and weighed on the broader market indexes.
The mid-cap and small-cap indexes were down 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Eileen Soreng and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
