Indian shares off to a muted start as Middle East concerns weigh
Updates at 9:24 a.m. IST
Oct 8 (Reuters) -Indian shares opened little changed on Tuesday as caution prevailed amid a deepening Middle East conflict, while investors await localquarterly earnings and a monetary policy decisionby the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The Nifty 50 index .NSEI was up 0.01% at 24,797 points as of 9:24 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex .BSESN added 0.05% to 81,080.54.
Both the benchmark indexes have logged losses in the last sixconsecutive sessions, their longest daily losing streak in a year, after escalating MiddleEast war fears sappedrisk appetite and as foreign investors withdrew funds, focusing onChina instead.
Foreign institutional investors (FII) were net sellers for a sixth session straight on Monday, offloading shares worth $6 billion over the period.
Other Asian markets opened lower, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS shedding 1.9%. Wall Street equities closed lower overnight.MKTS/GLOB
"Domestic markets have been experiencing significant profit-booking recently, alongside a large sell-off by foreign investors. This has unsettled investor sentiment, creating a more cautious and risk-averse atmosphere," said Narendra Solanki, head of fundamental research of investment services at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
Commentary by the RBI on Wednesday and the corporate earnings season starting later this weekwill be key triggers that will likely influence thetrajectory of markets in the near term, analysts said.
Nine of the 13 major sectors declined on the day. The broader, more domestically focussed small- .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 lost about 0.5% each.
Automaker Mahindra and Mahindra MAHM.NS rose 1.6% after CLSA upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "hold", citing gains from improved scale, superior product mix and better pricing power in sports utility vehicles (SUVs). The stock was the top Nifty 50 gainer by percentage.
Tata Motors TAMO.NS lost 3.2% after its unit JLR's September-quarter retail sales fell 3% year-on-year. It was the top Nifty 50 loser by percentage.
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema
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