India's stock market showed uncertainty in early trading on Thursday as investors awaited the release of a series of U.S. economic data that might provide further clues about the Federal Reserve's interest rate plans.
The S&P BSE Sensex, a benchmark index, decreased slightly by seventy points or 0.1 percent, settling at 71,752. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty index dipped by seventeen points to 21,823.
There were some winners, however. NMDC, a mining company, saw a significant increase of 6 percent after it reported an impressive quarterly net profit growth of 62 percent.
Other public sector unit stocks such as Coal India, NTPC, BPCL, and Power Grid Corp also experienced gains, rising between 1-2 percent. On the other hand, One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, fell 4 percent amidst reports that its subsidiary Paytm Payments Bank is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate.
Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra was another strong performer, rallying 4 percent following announcement of a 60 percent year-on-year increase in net profit for the third quarter.
Private banks, however, showed weak performance as IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank experienced declines of over 1 percent each.
