Indian shares end little changed in thin trading; IT pullback caps gains

Indian benchmark shares settled flat on Tuesday, weighed by losses in information technology stocks and thin year-end trading volumes as investors looked to the upcoming third-quarter earnings season for a confidence boost.

The Nifty 50 added 0.02% to 26,177.15, and the BSE Sensex shed 0.05% to 85,524.84.

On the day, nine of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps rose 0.4% while mid-caps closed flat.

“The market is consolidating after a strong rally in the last two sessions. We are seeing some resistance for Nifty 50 around 26,200-26,210 points,” said Nandish Shah, senior derivative analyst at HDFC Securities.

In the last two sessions, the 50-stock Nifty rose 1.4% and the Sensex gained 1.3%.

IT stocks lost 0.8% on the day, pulling back after gaining 3.7% in the last four sessions from a weak rupee that is still hovering near record lows and rising hopes of U.S. rate cut in 2026.

A rate cut in the key United States market will improve sentiment and spur client spending for export-linked sectors such as IT.

Among individual stocks, Coal India jumped 3.7% on reports its subsidiary Bharat Coking Coal will hit public markets for a $145 million listing in the next couple of weeks.

Shriram Finance rose 2.5%, taking its three-day gains to 10.2% since its $4.4 billion deal with MUFG.

Ambuja Cements jumped 1.3% after approving the merger of ACC and Orient Cement, which is projected to lead to about 10% value accretion for Ambuja’s shareholders.

Canara HSBC Life gained 5.2% after Investec initiated coverage with a “Buy”.

Investors are also awaiting a key U.S. GDP estimate due later in the day, which is expected to show brisk 3.3% growth in the September quarter. A strong reading could boost momentum in IT and pharma stocks, which derive a significant share of their revenue from the world’s largest economy.