REUTERS - India's stock markets swung between gains and losses on Wednesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. and Japanese central bank policy decisions, while private sector lender Axis Bank
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady later in the day when its meeting ends. The Bank of Japan makes its policy decision on Thursday amid some speculation it could ramp up its already extensive monetary stimulus scheme.
Regional markets were also cautious, with Asian stocks mostly trading lower on Wednesday. Sentiment at home was also muted ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts on Thursday.
"Market will take its cues from the Fed meeting outcome. If Fed turns even a bit hawkish than that could drive people to take profits off the table," said AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital.
"Also a few bank results have disappointed, and now it'll be followed by other private and PSU (public sector) banks which may surprise the market on the negative side."
The broader NSE Nifty was 0.23 percent higher at 7,980.90 at 0816 GMT, after falling as much as 0.28 percent earlier in the session.
The BSE Sensex gained 0.14 percent to 26,042.51.
Axis Bank shed 2 percent after the country's third-biggest private sector lender by assets on Tuesday posted an unexpected fall in net profit and said it expected bad loans to rise in the current financial year.
Indian banks' bad loans have surged in the past six months after an asset quality review ordered by the central bank as part of a clean-up exercise.
Next in cue are March-quarter earnings from ICICI Bank
NHPC
Among the gainers, telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel
(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
