Indian shares fall

Indian shares erased early gains to close lower on Wednesday, posting their sixth straight session of declines, dragged down by major IT stocks such as Infosys Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. The 30-stock BSE index ended down 0.25 percent at 26,242.38, while the broader NSE index closed 0.26 percent lower at 8,061.30.
Infosys and TCS fell 1.4 percent each. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.31 percent on Wednesday. Investors now keep an eye out for the minutes of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting earlier this month, expected later in the day, for clues about the economy and the central bank's stance after demonetisation.
The central bank unexpectedly kept its key policy rate unchanged on December 7, despite calls for action in the face of an intense cash shortage that threatens to slam the brakes on the world's fastest-growing large economy. "The feel-good factor has been missing from the market post-demonetisation," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities. "We will have to wait and watch if the government announces anything substantial early next year to lift investor sentiment. We can then expect a pre-budget rally."
Analysts are of the view that markets will trade in a narrow range until the effects of demonetisation pan out with better clarity. Financial stocks bounced back from the previous session's losses and were the major contributors to the gains. ICICI Bank and State Bank of India rose up to 1.4 percent each. However, consumer stocks were among the biggest losers with ITC Ltd, the country's largest cigarette maker, declining as much as 1 percent.