REUTERS - Indian shares were little changed on Tuesday after hitting a near one-year high in the previous session, as investors exercised caution ahead of a government meeting to discuss the goods and services tax bill and central bank meetings in the United States and Japan.
Investors hope uncertainties about the much-delayed GST bill would be cleared as state finance ministers meet on Tuesday to discuss it ahead of a debate in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.
The Bank of Japan is expected to ease policy after Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Saturday he would do so, if necessary, to achieve the 2 percent inflation goal.
The U.S. Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, according to a Thomson Reuters poll, but investors closely await its statement for clues on policy direction.
"The market is reflecting a combination of cautious sentiments and profit-booking today," said Anand James, chief market analyst at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
"After NSE and BSE recorded huge gains on Monday, investors booked profits, partly due to the uncertainties surrounding the tax bill."
The broader Nifty was down 0.07 percent as of 0722 GMT, after hitting its highest since July 23 on Monday. The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 0.04 percent.
Shares of Lupin Ltd fell as much as 1.63 percent after gaining around 10.9 percent so far this month as of Monday's close. HDFC Bank was the biggest drag on the NSE, and was down 0.3 percent after gaining 6.17 percent so far this month as of last close.
Cement companies ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements rose as much as 2.04 percent and 1.86 percent, respectively, ahead of their results scheduled later in the day.
Canara Bank's shares were up 3.2 percent, after falling as much as 2.8 percent as quarterly profit more than halved.
(Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
