Sensex, Nifty turn flat amid volatile trade

New Delhi: Domestic stock markets swung between gains and losses after a lower start on Monday, leading to a holiday-shortened week after Moody`s Investors Service cut its ratings outlook for the country last week and as the absence of fresh triggers kept markets range-bound.

Asian shares reversed gains on Monday, the yen ticked higher and gold jumped as fresh violence broke out in Hong Kong, while uncertainty still remained over whether the United States and China could end their damaging trade war.

Moody’s on late Thursday lowered India`s ratings outlook to “negative” from “stable” on Thursday, citing increasing risks that growth in Asia`s third-largest economy will remain lower than in the past.

The broader NSE Nifty inched 0.1% lower at 11,898, as of 0420 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 0.13% to 40,286.34. The rupee was 0.11% firmer at 71.365 against the dollar.

The Nifty PSU Bank index, which tracks state-run lenders, was the top gainer among NSE sectoral indexes, rising nearly 0.8%. The index was led by a 3.4% gain in Bank of Baroda, which reported a rise in September quarter profit on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Realty index rose for a third straight session, gaining 0.7%.

Late on Wednesday, the government approved 100 billion rupees ($1.41 billion) for a fund to help clear stalled housing projects. Britannia Industries rose 1.2% ahead of their quarterly results later in the day.

(With agency inputs)