Indian shares closed slightly lower on Wednesday after a day of see-sawing, as investors digested results from the country's IT industry leader Tata Consultancy Services and a potential share buyback from heavyweight Reliance Industries. Reliance, the country's biggest company by market capitalisation, closed up 5.1 percent at 779.75 rupees, after the cash-rich energy conglomerate said it would consider a share buyback on Friday.
The company, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, saw its share price slump by around 35 percent in 2011. That helped to drag the benchmark index down 25 percent for the year, making India one of the world's worst-performing markets. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's biggest software services provider, fell 2.5 percent to 1,076.15 rupees after analysts suggested a feared slowdown due to economic turmoil in Europe and the United States was starting to bite.
TCS met estimates with a 23 percent rise in net profit during the December quarter, but analysts cautioned on low revenue growth from its key financial services sector. "While TCS is optimistic about the environment, management commentary indicated softness in business evidenced by delays in decisions," wrote HDFC Bank in a research note on Wednesday. Rivals Infosys, which cut its fiscal year revenue growth outlook last week due to the euro zone debt crisis, and Wipro, which reports its results on Friday, also fell on Wednesday.
Infosys shares closed down 1.9 percent at 2,612.05 rupees, while Wipro ended the day at 404.10 rupees, a fall of 2.7 percent. The main 30-share BSE index ended down 0.09 percent at 1,6451.47 points, with 18 of its components falling. Airlines stocks surged for a second consecutive day after the federal aviation ministry said late on Tuesday it would recommend that the government allow foreign carries to buy stakes of up to 49 percent in domestic players.