Sensex Drops 145 Points; Nifty Holds Above 11,850

Indian shares fell in cautious trade on Wednesday, tracking muted global cues as investors watched the latest developments on the U.S.-China trade front.

The downside, however, remained limited after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government is eager to modify rules and boost investment in the infrastructure space.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex dropped 145 points, or 0.36 percent, to 40,102 in early trade, while the broader NSE Nifty index was down 57 points, or 0.48 percent, at 11,859.

DLF rallied 2.4 percent after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is focusing on real estate as part of a broader plan to kick-start economic growth.

Canara Bank dropped 1 percent while Cipla climbed 3 percent ahead of their quarterly earnings results today.

IT services firm Tech Mahindra gained 1 percent after it acquired New York-based digital content and production agency BORN Group for $95 million in an all-cash deal.

Infosys rose half a percent ahead of an analyst meet scheduled today.

Reliance Industries declined 1 percent on reports that Reliance Jio may have to shoulder the burden of around Rs 13,000 crore of past dues relating to license fee and spectrum usage charge owed by Reliance Communications.

Titan Company shares slumped 8.3 percent as the Tata Group firm posted a muted 3.5 percent increase in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter ended September 30.