(Updates for morning trade)

July 30 (Reuters) -

India's equity benchmarks were flat in early trade on

Wednesday as gains in Larsen & Toubro following upbeat earnings

were offset by investor caution ahead of the U.S. Federal

Reserve's policy decision and a looming U.S. tariff deadline.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.08% to 24,840.4 points and

the BSE Sensex gained 0.04% to 81,371.66 as of 9:56

a.m. IST.

Eleven of the 16 major sectors advanced. The broader

mid-caps and smallp-caps were flat.

Larsen & Toubro climbed about 4%, and was the

biggest percentage gainer on Nifty 50 after it beat quarterly

profit estimates on Tuesday.

"L&T's strong earnings are a silver-lining in a quarter when

earnings and management commentary have not been that great,"

said Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam

Securities.

Investors, however, stayed cautious ahead of the Federal

Reserve's policy decision and uncertainty around a possible

India-U.S. trade deal.

While the Fed is expected to

hold rates

, Chair Jerome Powell's comments on the economic and

inflation outlook will be closely watched.

Higher U.S. interest rates make emerging market equities

like India less attractive for foreign investors, who have been

on a selling spree in India this month.

India is preparing to face higher U.S. duties - likely

between 20% and 25% - on some of its exports as a temporary

measure, as it holds off on fresh trade concessions ahead of

Washington's August 1 deadline, two Indian government sources

said.

"Until there is some clarity on what happens to the August

1, there will be caution in the market," Kant said.

Among stocks, Tata Motors fell 3.5% as news

reports of its plans to buy Italian truck maker Iveco for $4.5

billion raised concerns over a potential strain to its balance

sheet.