By 0445 GMT, the Nifty 50 was down 0.03% at 15,017.65 and the Sensex was 0.09% higher at 49,953.50, weighed down by a near 3% drop in metal stocksChina, the world’s biggest metal user, said on Wednesday it wouldand demand to curb “unreasonable” increases in prices.
Metal stocks in India had seen meaty gains in April and early May as commodity prices soared. The sub-index is still up about 5% this month after a near 22% surge in April. "We are replicating trends of global stock markets," said Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, at Religare Broking. "We might be cautious today but overall, the trend remains positive and markets will keep a close eye on developing things like domestic COVID-19 cases."
In broader Asia, stocks paused after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting flagged the possibility of a debate on scaling back asset purchases and diminished risk appetite.