Indian Shares Recoup Early Losses On Bargain Hunting

(RTTNews) - Indian shares recovered early losses to end on a flat note Tuesday after hitting a four-month low earlier in the day on worries over the prospects for global growth and tapering in stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 1.2 percent before reversing direction to close up 2.67 points or 0.01 percent at 20,211,93, with 16 of its components advancing.

The CNX Nifty index hit its lowest level since October 9 before closing down 0.9 points or 0.01 percent at 6,000.90.

Tata Motors, NTPC and Bharti Airtel rallied about 3 percent each, Bajaj Auto advanced 2 percent, SBI gained 1.8 percent, ITC added 1.4 percent and HDFC Bank rose 1.3 percent. Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1.6 percent after raising interest rates on domestic term deposits.

Idea Cellular shares soared nearly 8 percent after the telecom major said it has gained access to long-disputed permits in two service zones, originally held by Spice Communication.

Whirlpool of India jumped 4.5 percent after the consumer durable goods maker reported a sharp rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December.

IT stocks Infosys, TCS and Wipro fell 1-2 percent after overnight data showed factory activity in the U.S. expanded at its weakest pace in eight months in January.

Bharat Forge fell 1.5 percent despite the firm reporting a 98 percent year-on-year increase in Q3 net profit.

Elsewhere, the Asian markets saw a broad selloff, with Japan's Nikkei index tumbling 4.2 percent to its lowest level since October 8, as disappointing manufacturing data out of China and the U.S. compounded investor worries about slowing global growth and the outlook for emerging markets.

European stocks also traded lower, extending declines for a third day as investors await U.S. factory orders data and speeches by a pair of Federal officials due later in the day for fresh insights on the prospects for U.S. growth.