Closing bell: Sensex falls 354 points, Nifty at 21,760; Airtel down by 3%

Indian shares were mixed on Monday as gains in Tata Motors and oil-related stocks were hit by a drop in financials, while fading hopes of early U.S. rate cut dragged Asian markets.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.28% at 21,917.10 as of 10:47 a.m IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex edged up 0.15% at 72,190.84.

Both indexes swung between declines of 0.2% and gains of 0.5% in first hour of trade.

Financial services fell 0.4%, dragged by a pullback in top private lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank after a rally on Friday.

The drop ate into 1.8% gains in auto stocks as Tata Motors surged 7.55% to a record high after reporting an over two-fold rise in December-quarter profit.

The stock was the top percentage gainer on Nifty 50 and led the gains in auto index as well.

“Going ahead, markets will be driven by quarterly earnings by index majors, Reserve Bank of India’s rate decision later this week,” said analysts at Centrum Institutional Equities.

Asian shares fell after data showed U.S. non-farm payrolls jumped more than expected in January, dashing any expectations of a near-term interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

“The rate cut in the U.S. will happen mostly in the second half,” said Santosh Pandey, president and head of Nuvama Professional Clients Group.

Oil and gas stocks gained 1.9%. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation extended their post-results rally, rising between 3.2% and 7%.

Since their quarterly results in the last week of January, the three companies have advanced between 12% and 26%.

On the flip side, One 97 Communications slumped further after a regulatory crackdown, dropping 10% to a near-record low.

UPL fell 6% to a three-year low after posting quarterly loss on weak demand.