India's stock benchmarks end flat as Reliance, trade jitters offset Eternal gains

India's equity benchmarks ended little changed on Tuesday, as the post-earnings surge in Zomato parent Eternal was offset by a drop in Reliance Industries and uncertainty over a trade deal with the United States.

The Nifty 50 NIFTY fell 0.12% to 25,060.9 points, while the BSE Sensex SENSEX ended 0.02% lower at 82,186.81 on the day.

The prospects of an interim trade deal between India and the U.S. before Washington's August 1 deadline have dimmed, with talks deadlocked over tariff cuts on key agricultural and dairy products, Reuters reported, citing two Indian government sources.

"Until there is clarity on India-U.S. trade deal, we are likely to continue seeing stock-specific action based on earnings," said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities.

Among 13 major sectors, financials CNXFINANCE was the only one to avoid losses, remaining close to flat, thanks to gains in top two lenders, HDFC Bank HDFCBANK and ICICI Bank ICICIBANK.

HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank rose 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, extending their post-earnings gains from Monday.

The broader, more domestically focused mid- CNXMIDCAP and small-caps CNXSMALLCAP fell 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.

Eternal ETERNAL jumped 10.3% and hit record high intraday after the online delivery firm said margins in its quick commerce segment have likely bottomed out, indicating easing competition and a potential turnaround.

The stock lent the biggest boost to the benchmarks, and also lifted its rival Swiggy's SWIGGY shares by 5.7%.

Reliance Industries RELIANCE1! was the biggest drag on the benchmarks, losing 1.1%, as weakness in its oil-to-chemicals and retail businesses continued to weigh, extending the previous session's 3.2% drop.

Among other stocks, exchange operator BSE BSE, and brokerages Nuvama Wealth Management NUVAMA and Angel One ANGELONE gained as the markets regulator said trading curbs on U.S.-based Jane Street have been lifted.

Media firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises ZEEL fell 5.7% after posting a 14% drop in its consolidated total income due to lower advertisement revenue.