Indian shares edged lower on Tuesday with Reliance Industries Ltd leading the losses as concerns about spending at its telecom unit overshadowed better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The broader NSE index closed 0.18 percent lower at 8,398 while the benchmark BSE index ended 0.19 percent down at 27,235.66.
Shares of Reliance fell 3.25 percent, after having touched its lowest since Dec. 14, 2016, earlier in the session.
The market is expected to move within a range ahead of corporate results and the government budget, analysts said, as more companies gear up to report earnings including Axis Bank and Yes Bank on Thursday.
The government will unveil its 2017/18 budget on Feb. 1 and investors hope for incentives to support an economy hit by cash shortages after a ban on higher-value banknotes.
"Markets are more or less flat today and will be range-bound ahead of quarterly results and the union budget wherein investors will watch out on how the allocation happens," said Siddharth Purohit, senior research analyst with Angel Broking.
Losses were led by Reliance Industries whose shares fell as much as 2.3 percent to its lowest since Dec. 29.
While Reliance's telecom unit Jio reported strong subscriber addition, its true potential will only become clear once it starts charging full price, which could still be some quarters away, Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.
Among gainers, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Ltd reversed Monday's losses and were up 0.8 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
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