Indian shares subdued amid weak global cues

Indian shares were little changed on Monday as investors took a breather after last session's rally following Moody's ratings upgrade for the first time since 2004.

sensex
Brokers trade at their computer terminals at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India. (SOURCE:REUTERS) Reuters

Indian shares were little changed on Monday as investors took a breather after last session's rally following Moody's ratings upgrade for the first time since 2004.

Moody's Investors Services upgraded India's ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive, lifting stocks by more than 1 percent on Friday.

Equities in Asia started the week on the weak note, pressured by a retreat on Wall Street amid tax reform uncertainty.

Meanwhile the euro declined after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's push to form a coalition government collapsed.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was nearly flat in early trade.

At 0550 GMT, the S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.04 percent at 33,329 while the broader NSE Nifty dropped 0.09 percent to 10,274.

Among the top Sensex gainers, Coal India rose 1.4 percent, Bajaj Auto advanced 1.1 percent, Larsen and Toubro added 1 percent while Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 0.8 percent.

The S&P BSE Auto index and the S&P BSE Healthcare index rose 0.2 percent each and were among the top sectoral gainers.

Cadila Healthcare gained 1.4 percent after the company said it got U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final nod for ethacrynate sodium.

Housing Development and Infrastructure advanced 3 percent after Morgan Stanley (France) bought 29.18 lakh shares or 0.7 percent equity stake at Rs64.26 each on Friday.

Biocon jumped 5 percent after the company said it got clean chit from the U.S. FDA for Bengaluru unit.

READ MORE