Indian shares muted ahead of interim Union budget; Paytm tanks

BENGALURU: Indian shares were muted on Thursday as investors awaited the interim Union budget, while Paytm shares tanked after the Indian central bank restricted its unit from accepting fresh deposits and credit transactions.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was mostly unchanged at 21,737, as of 9:16 a.m IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.1% to 71,817.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the budget for the financial year 2024/25, which starts on April 1, at 11 a.m IST.

Indian shares fall as L&T slides after results disappoint

Shares of fintech firm Paytm tanked 20% after the Reserve Bank of India restricted Paytm Payments Bank from fresh deposits and credit transactions across its services due to supervisory concerns.