Sensex ends flat, Reliance up on unit IPO talk

By Hiral Vora

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares swung between losses and gains before ending flat on Tuesday as weak global sentiment for financials sapped banks, while top listed Reliance Industries led gains on a possible public offering in a subsidiary.

The benchmark BSE 30-share index ended up 0.02 percent, closing a mere 2.8 points higher at 18,663.16, with 16 components gaining.

The index is still 12 percent away from a life high of 21,206.77 hit on Jan. 10.

Indian banks have no exposure to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis but nervousness towards financials affected sentiment and top private bank ICICI Bank Ltd closed down 1.7 percent while leading lender State Bank of India lost 1.9 percent to 2,228.35 rupees.

In the broader market 1,914 losers defeated 871 gainers on a total volume of more than 307 million shares.

"Factors like Reliance Power IPO has brought some buoyancy in the market, but it is just looking for external cues," said Rajesh Jain, chief executive at Pranav Securities.

"Also, this being the budget month a lot of expectations are being built up, plus the market is also keeping an eye on the foreign fund inflows."

Foreign funds, the leading force behind record highs in 2007, bought stocks worth 1.64 billion rupees ($42 million) on Monday, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed. They were net sellers to the tune of $4.3 billion last month.