Markets relatively flat; Lok Sabha Polls to begin from April 7

Benchmark indices trim morning gains as the EC announces the Lok Sabha polls would be conducted between 7 April and 12 May 2014

Benchmark indices remained relatively flat as the Election Commission announced that the Lok Sabha polls would be conducted in 9 phases between 7 April and 12 May 2014.

At 11:25 hours, the 30-share Sensex was up 30 points at 21,240, while the Nifty-50 gained by 11 points to 6,309.

Activity in the services sector, the largest segment of the economy, contracted for the eighth straight month, as indicated by the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) index. Although the PMI for services increased to 48.4 points, up from 48.3 points in January, a reading below 50 points indicates contraction.

Broader markets outperformed the benchmark, with the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap gaining 0.58% and 0.3% respectively, compared to Sensex's gain of 0.08%.

At 61.84, the rupee was marginally up 2 paise compared to yesterday's close of 62.86 versus the dollar. Dealers cited dollar selling by a foreign and a state-run bank.

Breadth of the market was positive, with 1281 advances, 916 declines, and 113 scrips remaining unchanged.

Asian Markets

Asian shares firmed up, after the US and European markets ended up higher on Tuesday due to easing tensions in Ukraine.  "The market liked the fact that the possibility of a military clash has diminished. If the tensions over Ukraine keep
receding, the market's focus will shift back to economic fundamentals," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, a market analyst at Monex Securities.

Nikkei-225 was up by 209 points, or 1.4%, to 14,930, Singapore's Strait Times was up 0.24% at 3,112 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng also gained 0.26% to 22,716.

Sectors and Stocks

Amongst the various sectoral indices, the S&P BSE Metal, Healthcare, IT, and Capital Goods made modest gains of 0.5-0.7% each.

On the other hand, Consumer Durables declined by more than 2%, after registering significant gains in the past few days, as investor booked profits in index constituents.

Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, and Coal India were the notable gainers in the Sensex, rising by 1-2% each. Tata Power was the biggest loser, declining by as much as 3% to Rs. 77.5.

Among other stocks, Nucleus Software Exports surged 9% to hit a 5-year high of Rs 248, extending its nearly 10% rally in past two days, after the company said it has launched its transaction banking product suite FinnAxia for the global market.

Autoline Industries has soared 9% to Rs 70.30 after the company said its board will meet on March 11 to consider fund-raising options, including selling stake in U.S. unit.

Bharti Infratel has rallied nearly 5% to Rs 201 on the BSE, after Reliance Jio Infocomm signed an agreement with the company to utilise the telecom tower infrastructure of the latter to launch its services across the country.

IL&FS Transportation Networks has moved higher by 7% to Rs 115 after the company has fixed an issue price at Rs 100 per share for the proposed rights issue. The company plan to mobilize about Rs 550 crore by issuing 52.4 million equity shares.