Indian shares flat; investors weigh earnings, cabinet reshuffle

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares were largely unchanged on Wednesday, as investors parsed through some early earnings data while awaiting details on an upcoming cabinet reshuffle of the central government.

By 0509 GMT, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.02% at 15,814.80, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.01% at 52,863.95.

“Markets seem to be indecisive and are seeking direction from stronger fundamentals… if a large company like Tata Motors comes out with a profit warning, it creates great panic among investors”, said Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets in Mumbai.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) parent Tata Motors warned on Tuesday of a hit to a key margin metric at JLR in the second quarter and flagged chip supply constraints. Its shares dropped more than 3% on Wednesday, piling on to the 8.4% fall in the previous session.

Jewellery sales at Titan Co, excluding bullion, rose almost 107%, the company said here. Investors are expecting strong numbers from Tata Consultancy Services, which is set to report its earnings on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was set to announce here a union cabinet reshuffle, expanding the council of ministers, media reports said.

The reshuffle would largely be of interest to institutional investors, Gandhi said.

In Mumbai trading, real estate firm Sobha Ltd surged 8% after it reported a higher total sales value for the first quarter. The construction company said it expects normalcy to be restored by the second half of FY2021-22.

Asian equities fell as a bout of risk aversion boosted bonds and the dollar, while investors expect minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting to be hawkish.

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