Indian shares subdued on geopolitical worries

Indian shares ended little changed on Friday, tracking weak Asian shares after North Korea fired another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean but sustained overseas inflows kept losses in check.

sensex
A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India. REUTERS

Indian shares ended little changed on Friday, tracking weak Asian shares after North Korea fired another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean but sustained overseas inflows kept losses in check.

U.S. stock futures and Asian shares dipped as North Korea's latest missile launch caused a mild flutter among investors.

Pyongyang's missile flew over Japan's northern Hokkaido, further escalating tensions following North Korea's test of its most powerful nuclear bomb yet.

The missile launch came just days after the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions against North Korea over the nuclear test on September 3.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.1 percent at 32,272 while the broader NSE Nifty edged down 0.01 percent at 10,085.

Among the top index losers, Dr. Reddy's fell 2 percent, ITC declined 1.2 percent, Tata Motors lost 1 percent while State Bank of India shed 0.7 percent.

Both the S&P BSE Bankex Index and the S&P BSE S&P BSE Healthcare Index lost 0.4 percent each.

Private lender Axis Bank fell 1 percent after gaining more than 2 percent this month up to Thursday's close.

But Coal India advanced 2 percent on news reports that it is on track to achieve 1 billion tonne output target.

Max Financial Services jumped 2.3 percent after a huge block deal.

Market breadth was in the favour of losers, with about 2 stocks declining to every 1 stock that advanced.

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