Indian shares flat as tech losses offset gains in automaker stocks

A broker reads a newspaper while trading at a brokerage firm in Mumbai May 14, 2014. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares were largely unchanged on Wednesday, as gains in automakers and Hero MotoCorp were offset by losses in heavyweight information technology stocks.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.03% at 15,767.35 by 0546 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.02% to 52,579.69.
India’s largest motorcycle maker Hero MotoCorp rose 2.5% and was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty 50, after the company said it would increase prices of its motorcycles and scooters from July 1.
Maruti Suzuki was also among the biggest gainers on the Nifty 50, rising 2%. Jefferies said on Tuesday in a research note that India’s auto demand was recovering again.
Software services firm Wipro was the biggest percentage loser on the Nifty 50, falling 2%.
Among global markets, Wall Street’s Nasdaq index ended at a record high overnight, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%, as Fed chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the central bank’s intent to keep an eye on inflation and not hasten to hike rates.