Indian Shares Slightly Higher In Cautious Trade

After swinging between gains and losses for a while, Indian stocks are modestly higher amid cautious moves by investors Tuesday morning.

Worries about continued surge in coronavirus cases in the country and an escalation in tensions between India and China following reports about an incident of firing on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh sector.

China accused Indian troops of violating a bilateral agreement and firing warning shots in the air during a confrontation with Chinese personnel on the disputed border on Monday, amid renewed tensions between the two countries.

Optimism about potential coronavirus vaccines and positive cues from Europe, where stocks posted strong gains on Monday appear to be aiding sentiment a bit.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which dropped to 38,332.20, advanced to 38,521.55 subsequently, and is currently up 66.21 points or 0.17% at 38,483.44. The National Stock Exchange's Nifty is up 5.60 points or 0.05% at 11,360.65.

Infosys shares are rising about 1.7%. Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies are gaining 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Tech Mahindra is advancing nearly 1%.

ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Financial Services, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance are also up in positive territory.

Bharti Infratel is declining more than 3%. Power Grid Corporation, Tata Motors, Nestle, Kotak Bank, NTPC, HDFC, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, Grasim Industries, ONGC, ITC, Bajaj Auto and JSW Steel are lower by 0.5 to 1%.

Shares of Indigo, Piramal Enterprises, ICICI Prudential Life, Aurobindo Pharma, Petronet LNG, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Muthoot Finance are moving up 1 to 3.5%.

ACC, Ambuja Cements, Adani Transmission, Siemens and GIC are notably lower.

Vodafone Idea shares are down more than 3%. The company said on Monday that it will seek shareholders' approval to raise borrowing limit to Rs 1 lakh crore, at the upcoming annual general meeting on September 30. Shareholders of the company (Vodafone India, then) had earlier approved a borrowing limit of Rs 25,000 crore at the AGM in September 2014.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited has launched Fulvestrant Injection per single-dose syringe, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Faslodex (fulvestrant) Injection, approved by USFDA. The Faslodex brand and generic market had U. S. sales of approximately $407 million for the most recent twelve months ending in June 2020 according to IQVIA Health. The pharma stock is little changed from previous close.

Bharat Dynamics shares plunged more than 13% in early trades this morning as the government's 15% stake sale in the company through offer for sale route opened for non-retail investors today. The floor price for the offer has been fixed at Rs 330 per share.