MUMBAI – Indian shares wavered between gains and losses before closing slightly lower for the third consecutive session Monday, weighed by rising crude oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index fell 39.76 points, or 0.2%, to close at 17839.05 after moving between 17792.17 and 18007.73. On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty fell 8.95 points, or 0.2%, to end at 5364.75.
Trading volume on the BSE rose to 30.44 billion rupees ($676 million) from Friday's 28.57 billion rupees. Gainers lagged decliners 1,174 to 1,687, while 113 stocks were unchanged.
"We saw range-bound trade because there were no major positive or negative triggers. The negatives from Japan have more or less been factored in, but nobody is clear about the impact of the situation in the Middle East," said Prakash Diwan, head of institutional equities at Networth Stock Broking.
He expects gains in coming sessions if the Sensex is able to break out above the 18,000 level.
But analysts say high crude oil prices will spark inflation concerns and could limit any gains.
ICE Brent crude futures for April delivery were trading at $115.21 a barrel in London, $1.44 above the previous settlement. Crude prices rose after allied forces launched air strikes on Libya under a United Nations resolution to halt attacks on civilians agitating against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 17 ended lower Monday.
Technology stocks fell after the rupee climbed to a near two-week high against the dollar early in the session and sparked concerns that export earnings of software vendors in rupee terms will be squeezed. Infosys Technologies, which has the second highest weight in the Sensex, fell 0.7% to 2,922.15 rupees, while Wipro closed 1.3% down at 433.60 rupees.
Reliance Industries fell 0.5% to 988.55 rupees after having shed 3.7% in the previous session following a media report the petrochemicals company expects a fall in gas output from two key fields in 2012-13.
In autos, Hero Honda Motors fell 2.7% to 1,433.75 rupees, while Maruti Suzuki closed 2.3% lower at 1,131.35 rupees due to concerns the companies could face component shortages due to delays in supplies from Japan.
Steel companies led gains in metals on hopes of an increase in demand from Japan to re-build the country after the devastating earthquake and a tsunami. Jindal Steel & Power rose 2.0% to 662.45 rupees, while Tata Steel closed 0.9% up at 601.50 rupees.
Housing Development Finance rose 0.9% to 626.65 rupees on bargain buying after having shed 7.4% over the previous four sessions.
Ranbaxy Laboratories, which isn't part of the Sensex, slipped 7.0% to 435.95 rupees following media reports that Mylan Inc. has sued the U.S. drug regulator in an attempt to block Ranbaxy's impending launch of a generic version of Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Mylan and the regulator weren't immediately available for comment, while Ranbaxy didn't comment when contacted.
In January, Mylan had reached a settlement with Pfizer on a patent litigation over a generic version of Lipitor.
