Reuters Market Eye - The broader Nifty inches up 0.14 percent, lead by gains in defensive stocks from pharmaceutical and IT sectors on caution ahead of key earnings including Tata Consultancy Services.
In healthcare shares, Lupin Ltd gains 2.3 percent while Cipla Ltd is up 1.8 percent.
Infosys Ltd gains 1.6 percent, Tech Mahindra rises 1 percent and TCS advances 0.1 percent.
Gains are also capped due to weak Asian shares. The MSCI Asia ex Japan index is down 0.1 percent.
(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)