Indian shares were little changed on Wednesday, as renewed geopolitical worries following North Korea missile test tempered gains in index-heavyweights such as Reliance Industries.
At 06:38 GMT, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.03 percent at 31,217 while the broader Nifty advanced 0.14 percent at 9,626. Asian equities reversed early declines, led by gains in automakers and technology companies, but geopolitical concerns continued to waver risk appetite.
The yen climbed with gold for a second day after North Korea's missile launch raised worries the reclusive nation is planning to build a device to attack U.S. mainland. US equity and bond markets are set to reopen after the July 4 holiday.
Back home, index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra, Asian Paints and Tata Motors rose between 1 percent and 2.2 percent. Confidence Petroleum gained 5 percent after the company said it got Rs 362 crore order from BPCL, HPCL and IOCL.
ABC Bearings hit 20 percent upper circuit while Timken India rose 3 percent. ABC Bearing said its board approved merger with Timken India subject to approval by the National Company Law Tribunal.
Among the laggards, biscuit maker ITC fell for a second straight session, down 1.2 percent while Bharti Airtel fell 1.1 percent. Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.
