Indian shares lackluster inline with Asian equities; Lenders fall

Indian stocks ended little changed on Wednesday, tracking subdued Asia amidst caution over the latest missile test by North Korea and concerns at recent softness in Chinese shares.

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

Indian stocks ended little changed on Wednesday, tracking subdued Asia amidst caution over the latest missile test by North Korea and concerns at recent softness in Chinese shares.

Stocks in Seoul fell as investors considered the latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch from North Korea. Bitcoin surpassed $10,000 for the first time, bringing this year's price surge to more than 10-fold.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up just a fraction, while China's blue chip index eased 0.5 percent.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.05 percent at 33,602 while the broader NSE Nifty edged down 0.09 percent to 10,361.

Among the top Sensex losers, Axis Bank fell 2.7 percent, Asian Paints declined 1.5 percent, HDFC fell 1.4 percent while State Bank of India dropped 1.3 percent.

The S&P BSE Bankex Index lost 0.4 percent and was among the top sectoral fallers.

Walchandnagar Industries declined 5 percent after the company posted a loss of Rs 13 crore in the September quarter.

Nestle India lost 0.2 percent after the Uttar Pradesh authorities slapped a fine on Nestle India and its distributors after its popular noodles brand Maggi allegedly failed to pass the lab test.

But IL&FS Engineering and Constriction jumped 5 percent after the company swung to a profit in September quarter.

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

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