BSE Sensex tentative ahead of derivatives expiry

Indian stocks edged lower on Monday, swinging between minor gains and losses for most of the session as sentiment turned cautious ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts in a holiday-shortened week.

Weaker Asian markets also kept sentiment subdued, with commodity prices slumping again on the back of a rising dollar and worries about Chinese demand.

Trading volumes are expected to be thin, with the markets closed on Wednesday for a holiday while the monthly derivative contracts are due to expire on Thursday.

Analysts said they did not expect any major direction in markets until the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Dec. 15-16 amid rising expectations for a rate hike.

"All eyes will be on December. There is a bit of caution going forward, there is our own rate action and the Fed rate action, which people are watching," said Arun Gopalan, vice president of research at brokerage firm Systematix Shares & Stocks.

The broader Nifty was down 0.33 %. The index would notch up a third straight day of gains and its highest close since Nov. 9, if it ends in the green on Monday.

The benchmark Sensex was down 0.41 %.

ITC , down 2 %, was the biggest drag on the Nifty. Some amount of profit-booking was seen in financial stocks, with Housing Development Finance Corp falling 1.5 % and HDFC Bank slipping 0.9 %.

Hindalco fell 3.75 % while Vedanta was down 2.74 % after their exclusion from the benchmark BSE Sensex index. The changes in the index will come into effect on Dec. 21.

But Adani Port and Special Economic Zone rose 2.7 % while Asian Paints gained 2.14 % after both were included in the Sensex.

Among other gainers, Hero MotoCorp was up 3.7 % while Bajaj Auto rose 1.95 % on hopes that the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission to raise civil servants' salaries would boost auto sales.