Indian equity benchmarks trade flat near record highs ahead of growth data

By Bharath Rajeswaran-India's equity benchmarks were little changed on Friday, pausing near record high levels hit in the previous session, with trade turning indecisive ahead of quarterly growth data due later in the day, expected to remain firm on strong demand.The Nifty rose 0.05% to 26,229.25 and Sensex gained 0.08% to 85,784.49, as of 10:19 a.m. IST. They both rose 0.2% during the session, but could not hold on to gains.The Nifty and Sensex rose as much as 0.4% and 0.5% on Thursday to all-time highs of 26,310.45 and 86,055.86, respectively, before closing little changed as foreign investors booked profits.Nine of the 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.Despite new market highs, most retail investors are sitting on losses, a paradox driven by their obsession with smallcaps and the belief they will outperform regardless of valuation, said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.The advance-decline ratio of the BSE, NSE universe has remained below 1, signaling more stocks are falling than rising across the market.Bouts of broad-based profit booking could also persist ahead of growth data, added two analysts.India's economy likely stayed resilient in the July-September quarter, with gross domestic product growth at 7.3%, buoyed by consumer demand and front-loading of production and exports ahead of U.S. tariffs, a Reuters poll said.The data will be released after market hours on Friday.Among stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra rose 1.8%, lifting the auto index 0.6%, after Nomura named it top sector pick, citing future performance of its new electric SUV.Gas transmission and distribution company GAIL fell 5.2% after the regulator's transmission tariff hike of 12% was lower than the management expectation of 20%.Road builder Ashoka Buildcon fell 3% after the National Highways Authority of India suspended the company from bidding for a month or until probe ends after two pre-cast girders collapsed on NH-66, killing one person.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.