Indian shares subdued; Pharma stocks top gainers

India shares edged little changed on Thursday, tracking gains in other Asian equities but selling pressure in autos and metals kept gains in check .

sensex
A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India. REUTERS

India shares edged little changed on Thursday, tracking gains in other Asian equities but selling pressure in autos and metals kept gains in check .

The Fed held policy steady as expected on Wednesday and underscored solid U.S. economic growth as well as a strengthening labor market, while downplaying the impact of recent hurricanes.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 percent, climbing to its highest levels since November 2007.

Investors are now focused on the impending appointment of the Federal Reserve chair, with speculation rife that Fed governor Jerome Powell is the favoured suitor

The S&P BSE Sensex shed 0.08 percent at 33,573 while the broader NSE Nifty dropped 0.16 percent to 10,423.

Hero MotoCorp down 2.2 percent, Mahindra and Mahindra fell 1.3 percent, Bajaj Auto lost 0.8 percent while State Bank of India declined 1.5 percent.

Among the top Sensex gainers, Sun Pharma advanced 2.7 percent, Lupin gained 3.3 percent, Dr. Reddy's rose 2 percent, Power Grid was up 2.1 percent while Cipla added 1.5 percent.

Solar Industries India jumped 2 percent after the company said it got order worth Rs1,143.63 crore for supply of bulk explosives to the arm of Coal India.

Divi's Laboratories surged 17 percent after the U.S. drug regulator said it will lift an import alert on its Visakhapatnam unit.

Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.

READ MORE