Indian shares flat as investors weigh Jane Street ban, trade developments

By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran

(Reuters) -Indian shares were largely flat on Friday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of a potential India-U.S. trade deal and assessed the market regulator's ban on U.S. trading firm Jane Street over alleged manipulation in derivatives trading.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.04% to 25,415.45 points and the BSE Sensex added 0.05% to 83,274.26, as of 10:17 a.m. IST.

The broader, small-caps and mid-caps traded flat.

On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued an interim order against Jane Street, one of the world's largest quant trading firms, alleging manipulation through derivative positions.

In June, Reuters reported that the SEBI was investigating the company's derivatives trades stretching back three years to check if it intended to manipulate the benchmark stock indexes.

Four entities affiliated with the firm made 365.02 billion rupees ($4.28 billion) in profits across National Stock Exchange segments between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2025, as per the interim order.

"While the order could stir some short-term unease, it's clearly case-specific and unlikely to trigger a broad foreign investor exit," said Kranthi Bathini, director - equity strategy at WealthMills Securities.

Investors are also awaiting a possible India-U.S. trade deal as President Donald Trump's July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs approaches.

"Domestic equity markets have continued to consolidate this week after a sharp 15% rise in the last four month as investors remain watchful of a potential trade agreement," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.

Among individual stocks, non-bank lender Bajaj Finance jumped 3.1% after it reported a 25% rise in assets under management in a pre-quarterly update.

Marico gained 3.6% after the consumer company reported a low-twenties percentage revenue growth for the June quarter, helped by improving rural demand.

In contrast, Trent slumped 7.2% after the fashion retailer posted a sequential deceleration in its June-quarter revenue in a pre-quarterly update.

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Sonia Cheema)