Indian equity benchmarks end flat in thin year-end trade; IT losses weigh

India’s equity benchmarks closed little changed on Wednesday in a subdued session marked by thin year-end volumes, with losses in information technology stocks weighing on sentiment.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.13% to 26,142.1, while the BSE Sensex shed 0.14% to 85,408.7.

Fifteen of the 16 major sectors declined. Small-caps rose 0.3%, while mid-caps fell 0.6%.

Analysts said thin year-end trading kept volatility in check, with global volumes typically light ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Indian markets will be closed on Thursday for Christmas.

Investors are awaiting further cues, including a potential India-U.S. trade deal and October-December earnings, for a directional trade in the market.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services said the earnings revision trends in the past four months have beaten its expectations.

“The backdrop for earnings has improved vs last year, engineered by a series of stimulative fiscal and monetary measures,” the brokerage firm said.

IT stocks fell 0.5% on the day after U.S. Department of Homeland Security amended regulations governing H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize the allocation to higher-skilled and higher-paid workers instead of a lottery system.

Among stocks, Vikran Engineering soared 11.2% after getting an order worth 20.35 billion rupees for development of 600 MW solar power projects in Maharashtra.

Ajanta Pharma gained 2.5% after a pact with Biocon for marketing weight-loss drug semaglutide.

Kajaria Ceramics fell 4.1%, extending losses to a seventh session. The company on Friday reported fraud to the tune of 200 million rupees at its unit, with financial impact of unrecovered amount to be recognised as an exceptional item in the current financial year.