India's stock benchmarks muted as IT pullback counters sectoral advances

India's stock benchmarks Nifty 50 .NSEI and Sensex .BSESN trade nearly flat as losses in IT counter gains in most other sectors

Fourteen of 16 major sectors rise, while small-caps .NIFSMCP100 gain 0.4% and mid-cap .NIFMDCP100 add 0.2%

IT .NIFTYIT, the second-heaviest sector, falls 1.6% after a prior-session uptick when IT stocks rose about 1% following Infosys INFY.NS announcing a partnership with Anthropic

Persistent uncertainty around IT is likely to keep large institutions cautious unless valuations turn more compelling, say two analysts

Tuesday's uptick in IT was more of a tactical bounce after an 8.2% slide last week, rather than an onset of revival in the sector, according to analysts

On Wednesday, metals are the top gainers, with Nifty Metal index .NIFTYMET up about 1.2%, led by Tata Steel TISC.NS, JSW Steel JSTL.NS and SAIL SAIL.NS

Among other stocks, cigarette makers ITC ITC.NS and Godfrey Phillips GDFR.NS extend gains on price hikes, rising about 2% and 15.4%, respectively