Indian shares eked out modest gains on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of U.S. CPI report due later in the day that could allow the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in September.
Heightened geopolitical tension in the Middle East between Israel and Iran also rendered the underlying mood somewhat cautious.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex ended up 149.85 points, or 0.19 percent, at 79,105.88 after a slightly choppy session.
The broader NSE Nifty index closed at 24,143.75, up 4.75 points, or 0.02 percent, from its previous close.
IT stocks shined, with Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and TCS climbing 1-2 percent.
Among the prominent decliners, Dr Reddys Laboratories, UltraTech Cement, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp and Divis Laboratories fell 2-4 percent.
Shares of leading metal and mining companies fell sharply after the Supreme Court allowed states to collect past dues on royalty from the Centre and mining companies.
NMDC slumped 6 percent, MMTC lost 3 percent, MOIL declined 3.5 percent and Tata Steel gave up 1.6 percent.