Indian shares close flat as metals offset slide in consumer stocks

BENGALURU, July 25 (Reuters) - Indian shares were little changed on Tuesday as a slide in consumer stocks offset the uptick in metal stocks, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserves policy decision.

The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index settled 0.04% higher at 19,680.60, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) lost 0.04% to 66,355.71.

Seven of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged gains, with the metal index (.NIFTYMET) rising 2.94% and the auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) adding 0.95%.

The rise in metals comes after China, the worlds largest producer and consumer of metals, announced plans to provide further support to its post-COVID economic recovery. JSW Steel (JSTL.NS), Hindalco (HALC.NS) and Tata Steel (TISC.NS)

were the top Nifty 50 gainers.

Asian markets also advanced on hopes of further stimulus measures from China, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) gaining 1.8%.

Auto stocks rose, led by a 5.88% rise in TVS Motor(TVSM.NS) on a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly profit.

Index heavyweight ITC (ITC.NS) lost 1.92% and was among the top Nifty 50 losers. The companys board gave in-principle approval to demerge its hotels business into a new entity on Monday. ITC will own a 40% stake, while shareholders will hold the remaining.

\“We believe some investors may have preferred a vertical split (100% direct),\” Jefferies said in a note.

The stock has lost 5.74% so far this week. The company will host an analyst/investor call on July 27 to discuss further details on the proposed demerger.

Asian Paints (ASPN.NS) lost 4.04% and was the top Nifty 50 loser after reporting a lower-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue.

\“(We) believe that the gains in the market will be capped in the near-term given elevated valuations and soft start to June-quarter earnings season,\” said Pankaj Chhaochharia and Abhimanyu Godara of Antique Stock Broking.

Analysts also expect caution to prevail in markets ahead of the Federal Reserves policy meeting on Wednesday.