Indian shares closed 0.09 percent lower in choppy Wednesday trade, as Greece referendum talks and a contraction in German manufacturing stoked risk aversion, erasing early local gains from bargain buying following a two-day fall. Investors largely preferred to stay on the sidelines and hoped for comfort on the weak US economy and troubled eurozone from meetings of the US Federal Reserve later in the day and Group of 20 (G20) leaders this week.
The main 30-share BSE index closed 15.98 points lower at 17,464.85, with half of its components in the red, dragged by losses in Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank. It rose as much as 0.77 percent earlier in the day. The benchmark, which is down more than 14 percent in 2011, has been battered this year as surging inflation and interest rates dimmed the growth outlook for the economy and corporate earnings. "Ahead of the G20 summit, which begins tomorrow, markets would remain volatile and the volumes low. This will continue for some time," said K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management at Globe Capital.
Profit booking sent top telecoms firm Bharti Airtel shares down 2.56 percent, after having gained about 4 percent last week, while private-sector lender ICICI Bank fell 1.12 percent, after adding more than 7 percent last week. The world's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp fell 2.25 percent after its October sales rose a mere 1.3 percent.
However, smaller rival Bajaj Auto closed up 0.3 percent after its October sales rose 7 percent from a year ago. Shares in index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 1.3 percent as value buying emerged after the stock shed 4.4 percent in the previous two sessions.
India's largest utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra rose 0.8 percent to 840 rupees after it posted a 20 percent rise in vehicle sales last month, shrugging off a series of interest rate rises. Top lender State Bank of India added 0.42 percent while No 3 player HDFC Bank edged up 0.17 percent. Construction firm Jaiprakash Associates rose 0.86 percent on attractive valuations while Larsen and Toubro ended flat. In the broader market there were 1.07 losers for every gainer on a moderate volume of 599.67 million shares. The 50-share NSE index ended unchanged at 5,258.45 points.