Indian shares inch down trailing Asia

Indian shares were marginally lower on Wednesday tracking fall in rest of in Asia, as inflation anxieties crept in ahead of an eagerly awaited U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual symposium.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.02% at 17573.1, as of 0400GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.04% to 58,998.17.

Gains in banking stocks were offset by losses in the energy sector.

Asian stocks were lower for an eighth straight session marked by uncertainty ahead of a speech Friday by Jerome Powell, the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

India’s equity market is expected to post only minimal gains for the rest of the year amid rising volatility, according to strategists polled by Reuters, who cautioned the risks to that lacklustre outlook were skewed to the downside.