Indian benchmarks end flat

MUMBAI: Indian equity benchmarks ended little changed on Monday as gains in consumer stocks, led by Godrej Consumer, helped offset broader losses, while investors remained cautious amid growing uncertainty over US trade policy.

The Nifty 50 closed largely flat at 25,461.3 and the BSE Sensex rose 0.01% to 83,442.5.

The more domestically focused small-cap and mid-cap indexes declined 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

Nine of the 13 major sectoral indexes ended lower.

Consumer stocks, however, drove sectoral gains, rising 1.7%, led by a 6.4% surge in Godrej Consumer Products after the company projected double-digit revenue growth for the June quarter.

Analysts also attributed the rise in the consumer index to growing expectations of rural demand recovery and stable monsoon rains.