(Reuters) - India's stock markets were little changed on Wednesday, after posting their worst fall in nearly two months in the previous session, while broader sentiment remained cautious as companies gear up to report their quarterly earnings.
Investors will parse January-March earnings reports for clues on corporate growth, with analysts already cutting projections for the quarter, due to a surge in bad loans for Indian banks, oil price slump and weak global demand.
A weak quarter could hit sentiment further after the Reserve Bank of India failed to impress markets on Tuesday by cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, as some had hoped the central bank would act more boldly.
Traders said global factors would also impact trading in the next few sessions as Asian stocks held near three-week lows on Wednesday due to concerns about the underlying strength of the Chinese economy.
"For the next few days, global cues will take prominence after which the results season will dominate and expectations will start building up based on earnings," said Rikesh Parikh, vice-president of equities at Motilal Oswal Securities.
The broader NSE Nifty was 0.07 percent higher at 7,608.10 by 0833 GMT, after falling more than 2 percent in the previous session, its biggest single-day percentage decline since Feb. 11.
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The benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.04 percent down at 24,874.19.
Tata Steel surged 5.8 percent after the British government opened talks on Tuesday with potential buyers for the company's UK operations.
RPG Life Sciences jumped 14.5 percent after the drug maker received good manufacturing practice certificate from the Bavarian Authority for its formulation facility at Ankleshwar in the state of Gujarat.
Jet Airways and InterGlobe Aviation rose 2.5 percent and 1 percent, respectively, after Business Standard reported the Indian civil aviation ministry is likely to abolish the "5/20 rule".
(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)